Superhydrophobicity and Rapid Rebounding Induced via a Unique Nonfluorinated Aluminum-Based Multiscale Multilayer Nickel “Trampoline” Structure

The development of a unique multilayer detached superhydrophobic structure inspired by biology with excellent superhydrophobic properties, extremely short rebound time, and low surface free energy has become a challenging issue. In this work, a superhydrophobic coating is prepared on the surface of Al 1060 via a fluorine-free, efficient, economical, and environment-friendly approach. First, a Ni nanocone layer is obtained from a recyclable electrodeposition solution. Then, stearic acid is prepared on the Ni nanocone layer by dip-coating technology, resulting in a special superhydrophobic surface called the “trampoline” structure, which is quite different from the Ni nanocone structure, as the substrate. The contact angle of water is 161.3°, and the sliding angle is 7°. In addition, the superhydrophobic coating with this special structure has had great achievement in adhesion work, resilience performance, porosity, corrosion resistance, and self-cleaning and antifouling performance. So far, very few reports have analyzed the performance of this special structure. To explain the bounce performance induced by this special trampoline structure, a multidimensional superhydrophobic bouncing mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, this work is expected to provide inspiration for future applications of the unique nonfluorinated trampoline structure in superhydrophobic materials.