OPTIMIZATION PROCESS OF CU-ZN SUPERHYDROPHOBIC LAYER FABRICATION WITH ONE-STEP ELECTRODEPOSITION ON STEEL USING TAGUCHI AND ANOVA METHOD

• Main Author: Abiyyu, Muhammad
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/77057
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

widely used in various industrial applications such as construction, maritime, and aviation industries. However, steel is susceptible to corrosion, and one of the contributing factors is its wettabilty nature. Based on its wetting ability, steel is considered as a hydrophilic metal due to its contact angle being below 90°. To mitigate its corrosion behavior, the surface of the steel can be made superhydrophobic, which is characterized by a water contact angle above 150°. This research employs a one-step electro-deposition method, which combines the production of a rough surface morphology and reduction of surface energy. This approach is preferred due to its simplicity, shorter fabrication time, lower operational costs, and direct micro-nanostructuring using non-polar chemical materials to achieve a more superhydrophobic layer. The objectives of this study are to analyze the significance and percentage contribution of variables to the contact angle value using ANOVA method, determine the optimum conditions for fabricating the superhydrophobic layer using the Taguchi method, study the characteristics of the superhydrophobic layer under optimal conditions, and assess the corrosion behavior, mechanical resistance, storage durability, and selfcleaning ability of the superhydrophobic layer under optimal conditions. The parameters varied in this research include the electrodeposition time, concentration of myristic acid, constant voltage, and the Cu2+/Zn2+ concentration ratio in the electrolyte. The experimental matrix was arranged using an L9 (34) orthogonal array from the Taguchi method and performed in duplicate. The response obtained was the water contact angle. Subsequently, the results were analyzed using ANOVA and Taguchi methods to determine the optimum conditions. The results under optimal conditions are further subjected to several tests, such as contact angle tests on all sides, self-cleaning tests, abrasive tests, electrochemical tests, and characterization using x-ray diffraction (XRD), fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). ANOVA results indicate that all four variables used have a significant influence. The variable with the highest percentage contribution was the constant voltage at 30.8%. The optimum condition with the highest contact angle was achieved with the parameters: electro-deposition time of 10 minutes, myristic acid concentration of 0.025 M, constant voltage of 15 volts, and Cu2+/Zn2+ ratio of 0.75:1. The average of water contact angle under optimal conditions was 157.7°. The presence of the superhydrophobic layer reduces the corrosion rate by 64.5%. The superhydrophobic layer also demonstrates self-cleaning capabilities and retain its superhydrophobic properties even after being rubbed for a distance of 50 cm.