Stable biomimetic film on Fe3Al surface for corrosion resistance in seawater

Stable superhydrophobic n-tetradecanoic acid (CH₃(CH₂)₁₄COOH) film was prepared by means of sol-gel and self-assembly techniques, with a very high seawater contact angle (158°) and a small sliding angle (<5°). There are many microconvexities with binary structure uniformly distributed on the surface atop the film with an average diameter of about 80 nm by observation of scanning electron microscope (SEM), and the film surface structure is similar to that of lotus surface. The corrosion resistance behavior of intermetallic Fe₃Al with the biomimetic superhydrophobic film surface is improved obviously when compared with pure Fe₃Al sample by measurement of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Supported by the Excellent Mid-youthful Scientist Encouraging Foundation of Shandong Province (Grant No. 2006BS04021) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 50672090 and 50702053)