Facile preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces based on metal oxide nanoparticles

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 303; pp. 473 - 480
• Main Authors: BAO, Xue-Mei, CUI, Jin-Feng, SUN, Han-Xue, LIANG, Wei-Dong, ZHU, Zhao-Qi, JIN AN, YANG, Bao-Ping, LA, Pei-Qing, AN LI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier 01.06.2014
• Subjects: Chemical vapor deposition; Coating; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Exact sciences and technology; Fourier transforms; Infrared spectroscopy; Metal oxides; Nanoparticles; Physics; Silicone resins; Zinc oxide; CVD; Nanoparticles; Metal oxide nanoparticles; Surperhydrophobic coating; Preparation; Film growth
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2014.03.029

A novel method for fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces was developed by facile coating various metal oxide nanoparticles, including ZnO, Al2O3 and Fe3O4, on various substrates followed by treatment with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Using ZnO nanoparticles as a model, the changes in the surface chemical composition and crystalline structures of the metal oxide nanoparticles by PDMS treatment were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. The results show that the combination of the improved surface roughness generated from of the nanoparticles aggregation with the low surface-energy of silicon-coating originated from the thermal pyrolysis of PDMS would be responsible for the surface superhydrophobicity. By a simple dip-coating method, we show that the metal oxide nanoparticles can be easily coated onto the surfaces of various textural and dimensional substrates, including glass slide, paper, fabric or sponge, for preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces for different purpose. The present strategy may provide an inexpensive and new route to surperhydrophobic surfaces, which would be of technological significance for various practical applications especially for separation of oils or organic contaminates from water.