Herein, a low cost, durable, and stable conductive superhydrophobic composite coating (CSC coating) was fabricated on a Q345 steel surface by simple double-layer spray coating. The water contact angle (WCA) of the CSC coating was 160° and the sliding angle (SA) was 3°. In addition to its excellent conductivity (3.10 × 10³ Ω), the fabricated composite coating had good durability and wear resistance. After 10 sand-washing cycles, the CSC coating surface still exhibited stable superhydrophobicity (149° WCA, 9.5° SA). At 200 g pressure, the surface of the optimized CSC coating still maintained fine superhydrophobicity (150° WCA, 9.2° SA) and conductivity (1.86 × 10⁴ Ω) after 10 abrasion cycles. In addition, it also exhibited fine adhesion (0.307 MPa) between the composite coating and the substrate. This functional superhydrophobic surface can be applied in specialty fields with harsh conditions such as coal mining and petrochemical activities. This new coating may also expand the application fields of superhydrophobic surfaces and have broad practical application prospects.

Research on antistatic superhydrophobic surfaces has attracted widespread attention in some fields. However, in the application of superhydrophobic materials, fabricating stable and practical superhydrophobic surfaces through facile and low-cost approaches still faces considerable challenges. Herein, a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS)-based antistatic superhydrophobic composite coating with a high water contact angle (166°) and a low sliding angle (2°) was fabricated on a Q345 steel surface through a simple spray-coating method without any modifier. Furthermore, the as-prepared superhydrophobic coating also displayed excellent superhydrophobicity for water droplets at different pH values, as well as self-cleaning, anti-fouling and anti-icing properties. Importantly, the superhydrophobic coating still exhibited superhydrophobicity after calcination at 350 °C for 1 h, indicating its outstanding thermal stability. Excellent antistatic and anticorrosion properties were obtained on the prepared coating surface, which allows the coating to be applied under harsh conditions. Benefiting from the above characteristics, compared with the commercial coating, the as-obtained antistatic superhydrophobic coating may be applied more widely in related fields.

Inspired by lotus leaves in nature, superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted extensive attention in many fields. However, their complex preparation process, poor durability and high cost seriously restrict their large-scale application in industrial production. Based on the good flexibility and durability of carbon nanofibers, several simple modifier-free one-step approaches were adopted to fabricate a durable CNF/PVDF/PDMS conductive superhydrophobic coating. The fabricated coating not only possesses good superhydrophobicity to many kinds of liquids, but also has excellent self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties. In addition, the superhydrophobicity of the obtained multifunctional coating is stable even after harsh bending fatigue deformation, long immersion times and high-temperature treatment. Due to its strong adhesion and excellent conductivity, the CNF/PVDF/PDMS coating displays reliable mechanical stability and superior sensitivity. These distinct features make the obtained conductive superhydrophobic coating a good candidate for multifunctional smart sensors, with great application prospects in gesture detectors, waterproof wearable electronics and health monitors.