Fouling and Corrosion Behavior of Nickel–Graphene/Polytetrafluoroethylene Composite Hydrophobic Coating

Abstract

Fouling and corrosion mitigation in heat exchange equipment remains a significant challenge. Numerous research techniques have been developed to address this issue. Surface modification is an effective method for preventing fouling and corrosion. This work used electrodeposition and dip coating techniques to create a nickel–graphene/polytetrafluoroethylene (NGP) composite hydrophobic coating. The field emission scanning electron microscopy, contact angle analyzer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy techniques were used to investigate the surface morphologies, wettability, binding energies, chemical compositions, and roughness, respectively. The water contact angle (WCA) of the NGP hydrophobic coating (147.1° ± 2.2°) was significantly higher than the WCA of carbon steel (76.8° ± 1.6°). Electrochemical impendence spectroscopy results showed that the NGP composite hydrophobic coating has improved anti-corrosion performance with a greater capacitive curve, a higher modulus of impedance value at low frequency, and increased charge transfer resistance. Furthermore, fouling testing at various temperatures exhibited the anti-fouling and anti-corrosion behavior of the NGP composite hydrophobic coating, suggesting possible uses in practical applications.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank the State Key Laboratory of Tianjin University and [National key R&D program of China] for funding this project under grant [number 2019YFB1504104].

Notes on contributors

Muhammad Zafar Ullah

Muhammad Zafar Ullah holds a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University, China. He is currently doing a PhD in Chemical Engineering at the same university. His area of research is pool boiling heat transfer enhancement, surface modification, fouling and corrosion inhibition.

Mingyan Liu

Mingyan Liu is a Professor and Director of the group of Multiphase Fluidization and Heat and Mass Transfer Intensification at Tianjin University, China since 2005. He is a member of board directors of the Chinese Society of Particuology. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, China in 1998. His research interests are Chemical Engineering and Technology, including multiphase fluidization, boiling enhancement, fouling control and chemical reactors.

Jizhe He

Jizhe He received his Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from Tianjin University, China in 2020 and focused on anticorrosion and heat transfer research. Now he is working as a Process Integration Engineer in Dalian Intel.

Muhammad Chawla

Muhammad Chawla received his Master’s in Chemical Engineering degree from Punjab University Lahore, India. He is currently third year student of Ph.D. at Tianjin University, China. His research interests are in the field of fluidized bed reactors, catalysis, membrane science, and surface modification.