Preparation of superhydrophobic coating with anti-corrosion and anti-fouling properties on the surface of low manganese steel by electrodeposition

As a rare earth slow-release agent, the yttrium (Y) element was often used in anti-corrosion coatings at high temperatures. Still, its application in anti-corrosion coatings at room temperature was rarely studied. Therefore, in this study, a stearic acid‑yttrium (SA–Y) superhydrophobic coating was prepared in one step on the surface of low manganese steel by electrodeposition. Different electroplating voltages were applied to the electrolyte composed of Y(NO3)3·6H2O and stearic acid (SA), and the effect of the voltage on the surface morphology and wettability of the coating were studied. The results show that the optimum water contact angle of SA–Y superhydrophobic coating is about 162.1 ± 1.2°, and the corrosion current density of the coating (8.68 × 10−10 A/cm2) is four orders of magnitude lower than that of the low-manganese steel sample (1.22 × 10−6 A/cm2), which confirmed that the coating has good corrosion resistance. At the same time, the soil powders cannot adhere to the surface of SA–Y superhydrophobic coating, indicating that the coating also has good anti-fouling properties. And studies have shown that during the corrosion process, a dense protective layer can be formed on the damaged coating surface to prevent further corrosion of the metal, so the coating has good active protection ability. Therefore, the coating prepared in this study has a good application prospect in the field of ship anti-corrosion.