Investigation of Superhydrophobic and Anticorrosive Epoxy Films with Al₂O₃ Nanoparticles on Different Surfaces

In this study, superhydrophobic epoxy coatings were prepared on different surfaces by utilizing hydrophobized aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles. The dispersions containing epoxy and inorganic nanoparticles with different contents were coated on glass, galvanized steel, and skin-passed galvanized steel substrates by the dip coating method. The contact angles of the obtained surfaces were measured via a contact angle meter device, and the surface morphologies were analyzed by utilizing scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The corrosion resistance was performed in the corrosion cabinet. The surfaces showed superhydrophobic properties with high contact angles greater than 150° and self-cleaning properties. SEM images indicated that the surface roughness increased as the concentration increased by the incorporation of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles into epoxy surfaces. The increase in surface roughness was supported by atomic force microscopy analysis on glass surfaces. It was determined that the corrosion resistance of the galvanized and skin-passed galvanized surfaces increased with the increase of Al₂O₃ nanoparticle concentration. It has been shown that red rust formation on skin-passed galvanized surfaces was reduced, although they have low corrosion resistance due to roughening on their surfaces.