Effect of substrates on the chemical characteristics and evolving structures of an organic superhydrophobic coating

Abstract While recent research has used organic coatings to replace chromium‐based coatings, the ability of a coating material to repeat its chemical properties on different substrates is still under investigation. The Repellix superhydrophobic compound was developed and deposited on three different substrates using the atomic layer deposition method under the same condition. The films were characterized using the scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, water contact angle, attenuated Fourier transform infrared, and x‐ray diffractometer. The surface morphology revealed that microstructural evolutions and topologies are different. The roughness of the coating deposited on stainless steel is the highest at 38.39 nanometers, while mild steel substrate showed the least surface roughness at 28.66 nanometers. From observations, the roughness also contributed to the degree of superhydrophobicity of the films deposited on substrates. The multiple hydroxyl functional groups observed in the Fourier transform spectroscopy in the range 3200 cm −1 to 4000 cm −1 would aid the adhesion of deposited films to the substrates. The x‐ray diffraction results showed that all substrates had chemical stability, and the Repellix compound is amorphous on all substrates. Stainless steel showed to be the most robust among the substrates considered.