Influence of materials and fabrication strategies in tailoring the anticorrosive property of superhydrophobic coatings

Nature inspired biomimetic superhydrophobic surface (SHS) development is a thrust area of advanced materials science because of its wide interest and application in industries. SHS could effectively prevent the entrance of moisture and therefore find suitable for corrosion prevention. SHS offers protection against metal corrosion by creating an air layer at the metal/coating interface. In addition to this SHS with low surface energy and high surface roughness weaken the adsorption of corrosive ions on the metal surface. The versatile properties possessed by SHS can be tuned by the proper combination of materials and fabrication methods. The present review explores how the synchronised function of materials and coating technologies contribute to the enhanced anticorrosive property of superhydrophobic coatings. Influence of materials (metallic, non-metallic and hybrid) with different structural characteristics & energy properties in boosting anticorrosive performance, the role and need of dynamic fabrication strategies in achieving better corrosion inhibition activities were also given. The review also highlights the recent advances in materials and the state of the art strategies in developing durable anticorrosive-superhydrophobic coatings, insighted from the top most publications in the last three years. An overview of fundamental theories of SHS, mechanisms of corrosion inhibition by SHS, the present challenges that restrict transformation of new findings from lab to industry and novel ideas in overcoming the challenges associated with the fabrication & use of SHS, were also dilineated. A deep understanding of SHS is extremely desired due to its versatile properties, which may extend its application to other potential areas.