Preparation of bio-inspired liquid-infused surface on epoxy resin coating for reliable hydrophobic and anti-corrosion properties

Epoxy resin (ER) is commonly used as an anti-corrosion coating, but the hydrophilicity hinders its effectiveness. Although liquid-infused surface (LIS) has shown promise in enhancing the hydrophobicity, its reliability is compromised because the vulnerability of modified layer. To address the above challenges encountered, a bio-inspired LIS (BI-LIS), which was proposed inspired by mussels and had improved modified layer, was prepared on ER. In preparation, by adding the modified mineral oil, consisting of the hydrolyzed modifier and mineral oil, dropwise onto the textured ER and placing it for 3 days, the BI-LIS specimen could be obtained. Energy dispersive spectroscopy results showed the gradual increase in the fluorine content on textured ER, indicating the formation of modified layer as the fluoroalkyl groups in the modifier molecules gradually adsorb. Not only did BI-LIS specimen exhibit improved hydrophobic and anti-corrosion properties than ER, but more importantly, it possessed the capability to restore the modified layer by the re-absorption of modifier molecules, which could response to the damage of modified layer and enhance the reliability of LIS. This study aims to enhance the hydrophobic and anti-corrosion properties of ER, and offers technical support to broaden the application scope of ER.