Superhydrophobic surface of biomass carbon-based PANI composite coatings with the biomimetic structure of goose feather for anticorrosion/antibiofilm applications

Biomass carbon (BMC)-based polyaniline (PANI) composite coatings with superhydrophobic biomimetic surfaces were fabricated through nanocasting to transfer the surface of natural goose feather (GF) to the polymer surface for anticorrosion and antibiofilm applications. First, the as-synthesized PANI powder without/with 1 wt% BMC was dissolved/dispersed in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and then dropwise added onto the negative soft template of polydimethylsiloxane, successfully transferring the pattern of natural GF surface to a series of biomimetic PANI coating surfaces (denoted by Bio-PANI and Bio-PANI-1). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigated the surface morphology of biomimetic coatings and revealed the presence of micron-sized rachis decorated with many nanoscaled barbules. Compared with that for non-Bio-PANI coating, the contact angle (CA) increased from 92.88° ± 0.81° to 144.94° ± 0.87° for Bio-PANI and 152.46° ± 1.95°for Bio-PANI-1. For anticorrosion application, the electrochemical corrosion potential (Ecorr)/impedance (Z') of PANI coating increased significantly (from −633.62 mV/7.41 × 105 Ω to −319.87 mV/1.05 × 107 Ω) compared with that of Bio-PANI-1 coating, indicating that the Bio-PANI composite superhydrophobic coating exhibited the best anticorrosion performance. For antibiofilm application, three types of bacteria (i.e., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were used to study long-term antibiofilm formation. The findings revealed that the superhydrophobic Bio-PANI-1 coated surface inhibited bacterial growth and hindered biofilm development. Furthermore, the inherent hydrophobicity of this surface played a crucial role in warding off bacterial adhesion, ensuring impressive sustained antibiofilm efficacy.