Impact of microgrooves on the surface of SS304 steel on wettability and corrosion

A novel biomimetic surface was proposed to minimise wetting and eradicate corrosion in SS304 steel. The microgrooves were formed on SS304 steel using a wire-cut electrical discharge machining process. The wetting and corrosion study were conducted using the standard sessile drop method and potentiodynamic polarisation experiment in saline water (pH = 8 and duration = 7 days). The contact angle, corrosion current density and corrosion rate were used to quantify the effect of wetting and corrosion in a micro-patterned surface. The wetting and corrosion parameters were compared with the variation in size of the microgrooves. The micro-patterns decrease the interface between the solid and liquid medium, isolating the substrate from the corrosive medium. The microgroove surface shows excellent corrosion resistance and minimum wetting when compared to the plain surface.