Thread Content
Chinese scientists make new progress in areas such as metal corrosion resistance research 2024-11-27 Recently, reporters learned from the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the latest research findings by the team led by Yang Jianjun at the International Laboratory for Micro-Nano Photonics and Materials have effectively solved the key problem of maintaining extreme water repellency on metal surfaces over time. This breakthrough not only opens up broad prospects for the field of superhydrophobicity but also provides new research approaches for the design and development of high-performance material surfaces based on atomic-scale control. Superhydrophobic metal surfaces have significant potential applications in areas such as self-cleaning, corrosion prevention, drag reduction, and anti-icing. For a long time, this field has received extensive attention from researchers both at home and abroad. Professor Yang Jianjun, the team leader, explained that the achievement of superhydrophobic properties on metal surfaces relies largely on the traditional dual-cooperative design approach, which involves first creating micro/nanostructures on the material surface and then modifying it with organic substances with low surface energy. This design that relies on an adhesive coating is prone to the penetration of aggressive ions in actual corrosive environments, posing risks such as coating degradation, loosening, and peeling. To address this issue, Yang Jianjun’s team creatively proposed a research approach that combines femtosecond laser-induced element doping of micro-nano structures with cyclic low-temperature annealing. This method enabled the creation of a biomimetic ant nest-like structure on metal aluminum alloy surfaces, one dominated by hypereutectic phases, thereby achieving a highly efficient and stable self-initiated superhydrophobic effect and endowing the metal surfaces with unique superhydrophobic chemical stability. Experimental results show that the metal sample retained its excellent superhydrophobic properties on its surface even after being immersed in corrosive saline for up to 2000 hours. At the same time, this structure also possesses excellent corrosion resistance; its super-hydrophobic metal surface is able to withstand the challenges of various harsh environments such as immersion in different acid and alkali solutions, ultraviolet radiation, and freezing cycles. It has been proven that the corrosion current density of the material after laser treatment is 100,000 times lower than that of the untreated aluminum alloy. Such superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit excellent corrosion resistance in actual deep-sea environments, and can be used in building materials, automobile exteriors, as well as ships and marine engineering equipment.