Ultrahydrophobic Coatings

Due to the staggering costs stemming from corrosion of metal structures, there is a tremendous need to develop multifunctional coatings that can out perform traditional coatings. This research program will develop robust, inexpensive ultrahydrophobic coatings that repel water and corrosion causing materials as a first line of defense for metal. Various surface modification approaches have reported in the literature for producing hydrophobic character. Although successful at producing water repelling surfaces, these approaches have generally been only of academic interest due to complexity, cost, and lack of scalability. Luna and the University of New Mexico have developed ultrahydrophobic coatings that are simple to apply using conventional techniques and will be cost effective for widespread use in military and commercial applications. The technology developed on this program will decrease life cycle costs, reduce maintenance, and increase readiness by limiting equipment down-time.