Relationship between the structure and hydrophobic performance of Ni–TiO2 nanocomposite coatings by electrodeposition

In this paper, a nanocomposite electrodeposition method is proposed to prepare hydrophobic surfaces. After further surface modification of a layer of FAS-17,11(heptadecafluorodecyl)-trimethoxysilane, CF3(CF2)7CH2CH2Si(OCH3)3. hydrophobic surfaces were obtained. The electrodeposited composite coatings exhibited thorn-like hierarchical structures with high roughness. Moreover, this binary geometric morphology could be controlled by adjusting current density and electrodeposition time, resulting in a contact angle (CA) as high as 174.9°. Importantly, this method can be easily extended to other materials as long as they are electrically conductive. Since this approach is quite time-saving and cost-effective, it is supposed to have a promising future in industrial fields.