Fabrication of Superhydrophobic from Low Carbon Steel ST37 Surfaces

• Main Author: Dhusi Sembiring Milala, Alfado
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Subjects: Teknik (Rekayasa, enjinering dan kegiatan berkaitan)
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/41559
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Carbon steel is an engineering material that is widely used in industrial, building construction and automotive needs. One type of carbon steel is low carbon steel. Low carbon steel has good ductility, however the corrosion rate is quite high when exposed to water. Therefore, this material must be protected against water to reduce corrosion. One way to provide protection against water in steel materials is to make a superhydrophobic layer on the steel surface. This research makes the superhydrophobic layer on low carbon steel using the chemical etching method. The steel etched by 6 Molar HCl solution then immersed in stearic acid solution to obtain a superhydrophobic layer. The superhydrophobic layer was examined by measuring the contact angle of water on the surface and the highest value reached was 163.6?. Then, the morphology of the steel surface was observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The chemical composition formed on the steel surface was analyzed using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the steel corrosion rate measured by the polarization method using a potentiodynamic polarization tool in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. From the results of corrosion rate testing, it is proven that this superhydrophobic layer can reduce the corrosion rate of carbon steel. The manufacture of superhydrophobic layers using chemical etching method is considered as facile, inexpensive and environmentally friendly so that it is effectively used in water protection for carbon steel.