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The purpose of this study is to investigate the structural, surface roughness and corrosion properties of the zirconium oxide thin films deposited onto SS304 substrates using the direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering technique.

DC sputtering at different powers – 80, 100 and 120 W – was used to deposit ZrO₂ thin films onto different substrates (Si/SS304) without annealing of the substrate. Atomic force microscope (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Tafel extrapolation and contact angle techniques were applied to investigate the surface roughness, chemical compositions, corrosion behavior and hydrophobicity of these films.

Results showed that the thickness of the deposited film increased with power increase, while the corrosion current decreased with power increase. AFM images indicated that the surface roughness decreased with an increase in DC power. EDS analysis showed that the thin film has a stoichiometric ZrO₂ (Zr:O 1:2) composition with basic uniformity. Water contact angle measurements indicated that the hydrophobicity of the synthesized films decreased with an increase in surface roughness.

DC magnetron sputtering technique is infrequently used to deposition thin films. The obtained thin films showed good hydrophobic and anticorrosion properties. Finally, results are compared with other deposition techniques.