Mechanism of an organic-inorganic composite coating with anticorrosive and versatile superhydrophobic properties: A combined electrochemical and molecular dynamics exploration

Superhydrophobic coatings can be used to withstand the erosion of ions in marine environments, because of their non-wettability of water. In this study, a new environment-friendly superhydrophobic coating doped with titanate-modified kaolin (T-KL) particles was fabricated. The mechanism of the anti-corrosive and versatile superhydrophobic properties was explored in depth through a combination of electrochemical and molecular dynamic (MD) methods. Compared to ordinary epoxy resin (EP) coating, the superhydrophobic coatings with 10 % T-KL exhibited a higher impedance and durability in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution, which was intuitively confirmed by the simulated parameters of coating resistance and charge transfer resistance. Moreover, the protective mechanism of the superhydrophobic coatings was further verified on the molecular scale by MD simulations. The successful development of T-KL particles provides a new choice for the performance improvement of anti-corrosion coatings, and the application of MD simulations method satisfies the need for the exploration of protection mechanism.