Stable Superhydrophobic Surface via Carbon Nanotubes Coated with a ZnO Thin Film

Physicochemical characteristics and droplet impact dynamics of superhydrophobic carbon nanotube arrays

The physicochemical and droplet impact dynamics of superhydrophobic carbon nanotube arrays are investigated. These superhydrophobic arrays are fabricated simply by exposing the as-grown carbon nanotube arrays to a vacuum annealing treatment at a moderate temperature. This treatment, which allows a significant removal of oxygen adsorbates, leads to a dramatic change in wettability of the arrays, from mildly hydrophobic to superhydrophobic. Such change in wettability is also accompanied by a substantial change in surface charge and electrochemical properties. Here, the droplet impact dynamics are characterized in terms of critical Weber number, coefficient of restitution, spreading factor, and contact time. Based on these characteristics, it is found that superhydrophobic carbon nanotube arrays are among the best water-repellent surfaces ever reported. The results presented herein may pave a way for the utilization of superhydrophobic carbon nanotube arrays in numerous industrial and practical applications, including inkjet printing, direct injection engines, steam turbines, and microelectronic fabrication.

Fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces via a two-step electrodeposition technique

This work presents a template-free electrochemical route to producing superhydrophobic copper coatings with the water contact angle of 160 ± 6° and contact angle hysteresis of 5 ± 2°. In this technique, copper deposit with multiscale surface features is formed through a two-step electrodeposition process in a concentrated copper sulfate bath. In the first step, applying a high overpotential results in the formation of structures with dense-branching morphology, which are loosely attached to the surface. In the second step, an additional thin layer of the deposit is formed by applying a low overpotential for a short time, which is used to reinforce the loosely attached branches on the surface. The work also presents a theoretical analysis of the effects of the fabrication parameters on the surface textures that cause the superhydrophobic characteristic of the deposit.

ZnO nano reactor on textiles and polymers: ex situ and in situ synthesis, application, and characterization

Zinc oxide consumption has increased in today's world. It is one of the most popular nanoparticles with photocatalytic activity under light illumination utilized in different industries, especially in textiles and polymers. Lately, textiles and polymers with new features have been produced through utilization of ZnO nanoparticles to create photocatalytic characteristics, UV absorption, self-cleaning, and antimicrobial properties. Various approaches have been introduced to synthesize and apply nanoparticles on the textile and polymer surfaces such as cotton, polyester, wool, and others. This review presents diverse aspects of nano zinc oxide application in textile and polymer industry and approaches used for in situ and ex situ synthesis and application of nano zinc oxide on different textiles and polymers. This also brings a brief overview on the several studies accomplished in this area.

Moisture condensation behavior of hierarchically carbon nanotube-grafted carbon nanofibers

Hierarchical micro/nanosurfaces with nanoscale roughness on microscale uneven substrates have been the subject of much recent research interest because of phenomena such as superhydrophobicity. However, an understanding of the effect of the difference in the scale of the hierarchical entities, i.e., nanoscale roughness on microscale uneven substrates as opposed to nanoscale roughness on (a larger) nanoscale uneven surface, is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the effect of the difference in scale between the nano- and microscale features. We fabricated carbon nanotube-grafted carbon nanofibers (CNFs) by dispersing a catalyst precursor in poly (acrylonitrile) (PAN) solution, electrospinning the PAN/catalyst precursor solution, carbonization of electrospun PAN nanofibers, and direct growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the CNFs. We investigated the relationships between the catalyst concentrations, the size of catalyst nanoparticles on CNFs, and the sizes of CNFs and CNTs. Interestingly, the hydrophobic behavior of micro/nano and nano/nano hierarchical surfaces with water droplets was similar; however a significant difference in the water condensation behavior was observed. Water condensed into smaller droplets on the nano/nano hierarchical surface, causing it to dry much faster.

Effect of TiO2 Powder on the Surface Morphology of Micro/Nanoporous Structured Hydrophobic Fluoropolymer Based Composite Material

The present work reports a simple and effective way to produce hydrophobic foams with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and TiO2 by using a phase separation technique. This method involved the phase separation during the deposition of PVDF from its DMF solution with nonsolvent water in the presence of TiO2. The surface morphology of hydrophobic surfaces was characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The maximum water contact angle of 129° was observed. The results confirm that the surface texture of polymer composite exhibits mixture of microporous and nanoporous structure. The impact of TiO2 on the wettability property of polymer composite has been studied. The proposed methodology might find applications in the preparation of hydrophobic surfaces for industrial applications.

Dry oxidation and vacuum annealing treatments for tuning the wetting properties of carbon nanotube arrays

In this article, we describe a simple method to reversibly tune the wetting properties of vertically aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays. Here, CNT arrays are defined as densely packed multi-walled carbon nanotubes oriented perpendicular to the growth substrate as a result of a growth process by the standard thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique.(1,2) These CNT arrays are then exposed to vacuum annealing treatment to make them more hydrophobic or to dry oxidation treatment to render them more hydrophilic. The hydrophobic CNT arrays can be turned hydrophilic by exposing them to dry oxidation treatment, while the hydrophilic CNT arrays can be turned hydrophobic by exposing them to vacuum annealing treatment. Using a combination of both treatments, CNT arrays can be repeatedly switched between hydrophilic and hydrophobic.(2) Therefore, such combination show a very high potential in many industrial and consumer applications, including drug delivery system and high power density supercapacitors.(3-5) The key to vary the wettability of CNT arrays is to control the surface concentration of oxygen adsorbates. Basically oxygen adsorbates can be introduced by exposing the CNT arrays to any oxidation treatment. Here we use dry oxidation treatments, such as oxygen plasma and UV/ozone, to functionalize the surface of CNT with oxygenated functional groups. These oxygenated functional groups allow hydrogen bond between the surface of CNT and water molecules to form, rendering the CNT hydrophilic. To turn them hydrophobic, adsorbed oxygen must be removed from the surface of CNT. Here we employ vacuum annealing treatment to induce oxygen desorption process. CNT arrays with extremely low surface concentration of oxygen adsorbates exhibit a superhydrophobic behavior.

Laser synthesized super-hydrophobic conducting carbon with broccoli-type morphology as a counter-electrode for dye sensitized solar cells

A laser photochemical process is introduced to realize superhydrophobic conducting carbon coatings with broccoli-type hierarchical morphology for use as a metal-free counter electrode in a dye sensitized solar cell. The process involves pulsed excimer laser irradiation of a thin layer of liquid haloaromatic organic solvent o-dichlorobenzene (DCB). The coating reflects a carbon nanoparticle-self assembled and process-controlled morphology that yields solar to electric power conversion efficiency of 5.1% as opposed to 6.2% obtained with the conventional Pt-based electrode.

Enhanced wettability performance of ultrathin ZnO nanotubes by coupling morphology and size effects

In this work, we report on the detailed characterization and mechanism analysis of the improved wettability performance of a new type of ZnO nanostructure, the ultrathin ZnO nanotube, whose growth is induced by screw-dislocation. The newly discovered enhanced wettability properties are suggested to be caused by coupling the morphology and size effects of the nanostructured surface. These ultrathin nanotubes with low density and small dimension form a wet-hair-like hierarchical morphology, which shows a further improved superhydrophobic property with an 8.6 ± 1.6° larger contact angle than that of ZnO nanorods due to the morphology effect. In addition, owing to the large surface to volume ratio and increased effective UV-irradiated area of the ultrathin tubular structure, the ZnO nanotubes exhibit ∼5 times faster superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity conversion speed than nanorods under 254 nm UV illumination. Furthermore, UV light with a wavelength of 254 nm exhibits ∼40 times faster wettability conversion speed for nanotubes than that of 365 nm, which is suggested to be a result of the band gap shift at the nanoscale. The combined advantages of enhanced superhydrophobicity, improved sensitivity, and faster conversion speed by coupling morphology and size effects of these ZnO nanotubes should give them broad applications in self-cleaning surfaces and wettability switches.

A Green Process to Prepare Hydrophobic and Transparent CNT-Based Surface

A green process to prepare the hydrophobic and transparent CNT-based surface was developed without using any toxic chemicals, solvents or gases. CNT brush (CNT-b) powder, which was prepared by the repeated CVD, was the main material to prepare the desired surface. An adhesive layer of ethyl cellulose (EC) was spin coated on the glass substrate, where EC formed a networked porous microstructure. A low concentration CNT-b suspension was obtained by sonication of the mixture of CNT-b powders, sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) and deionized water. To obtain the stabilized CNT-b suspension, it was found that 40 min of sonication time and SDBS/CNT-b weight ratio being 0.1 were required. The target surface was then prepared by spin coating CNT-b suspension on the EC coated glass. The contact angle of the prepared surface was around 120o and the optical transmittance was around 93% for the visible light. Either increasing the number of spin coatings or increasing the concentration of CNT-b suspension could slightly increase the contact angle to around 130o but the optical transmittance significantly reduce to about 75%, leading to a semi-transparent sample.

Simultaneous growth of self-patterned carbon nanotube forests with dual height scales

In this study, we report on a unique, one-step fabrication technique enabling the simultaneous synthesis of vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (VA-MWCNTs) with dual height scales through alcohol catalyzed chemical vapor deposition (ACCVD). Regions of VA-MWCNTs with different heights were well separated from each other leading to a self-patterning on the surface. We devised a unique layer-by-layer process for application of catalyst and inhibitor precursors on oxidized Si (100) surfaces before the ACCVD step to achieve a hierarchical arrangement. Patterning could be controlled by adjusting the molarity and application sequence of precursors. Contact angle measurements on these self-patterned surfaces indicated that manipulation of these hierarchical arrays resulted in a wide range of hydrophobic behavior changing from that of a sticky rose petal to a lotus leaf.

Facile synthesis of superhydrophobic surface of ZnO nanoflakes: chemical coating and UV-induced wettability conversion

This work reports an oriented growth process of two-dimensional (2D) ZnO nanoflakes on aluminum substrate through a low temperature hydrothermal technique and proposes the preliminary growth mechanism. A bionic superhydrophobic surface with excellent corrosion protection over a wide pH range in both acidic and alkaline solutions was constructed by a chemical coating treatment with stearic acid (SA) molecules on ZnO nanoflakes. It is found that the superhydrophobic surface of ZnO nanoflake arrays shows a maximum water contact angle (CA) of 157° and a low sliding angle of 8°, and it can be reversibly switched to its initial superhydrophilic state under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, which is due to the UV-induced decomposition of the coated SA molecules. This study is significant for simple and inexpensive building of large-scale 2D ZnO nanoflake arrays with special wettability which can extend the applications of ZnO films to many other important fields.

Bioinspired structured surfaces

Nature has evolved objects with desired functionality using commonly found materials. Nature capitalizes on hierarchical structures to achieve functionality. The understanding of the functions provided by objects and processes found in nature can guide us to produce nanomaterials, nanodevices, and processes with desirable functionality. Various natural objects which provide functionality of commercial interest have been characterized to understand how a natural object provides functionality. We have modeled and fabricated structures in the lab using nature's route and developed optimum structures. Once it is understood how nature does it, optimum structures have been fabricated using smart materials and fabrication techniques. This feature article provides an overview of four topics: Lotus effect, rose petal effect, gecko feet, and shark skin.

Controlling the wettability of hierarchically structured thermoplastics

Surfaces play an important role in defining the properties of materials, controlling wetting, adsorption, or desorption of biomolecules, and sealing/bonding of different materials. We have combined microscale features with plasma-etched nanoscale roughness and chemical modification to tailor the wettability of the substrates. Cyclic olefin polymers and copolymers (COPs/COCs) were processed to make a range of surfaces with controlled superhydrophobic or -hydrophilic properties. The hydrophobic properties of the polymers were increased by the introduction of microstructures of varying geometry and spacing through hot embossing. The COC/COP substrates were functionalized by plasma activation in O(2), CF(4), and a mixture of both gases. The plasma etching introduces nanoscale roughness and also chemically modifies the surface, creating either highly hydrophilic or highly hydrophobic (contact angle >150°) surfaces depending on the gas mixture. The influence of geometry and chemistries was characterized by atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Measurements of the contact angle and contact angle hysteresis demonstrated long-term stability of the superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic characteristics (>6 months).

Facile synthesis of three-dimensional ZnO nanostructure: realization of a multifunctional stable superhydrophobic surface

BACKGROUND

After comprehensive study of various superhydrophobic phenomena in nature, it is no longer a puzzle for researchers to realize such fetching surfaces. However, the different types of artificial surfaces may get wetted and lose its water repellence if there exist defects or the liquid is under pressure. With respect to the industry applications, in which the resistance of wetting transition is critical important, new nanostructure satisfied a certain geometric criterion should be designed to hold a stable gas film at the base area to avoid the wet transition.

METHODOLOGY

A thermal deposition method was utilized to produce a thin ZnO seeds membrane on the aluminum foil. And then a chemical self-assemble technology was developed in present work to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical dune-like ZnO architecture based on the prepared seeds membrane.

RESULTS

Hierarchical ZnO with micro scale dune-like structure and core-sharing nanosheets was generated. The characterization results showed that there exist plenty of gaps and interfaces among the micro-dune and nanosheets, and thus the surface area was enlarged by such a unique morphology. Benefited from this unique 3D ZnO hierarchical nanostructure, the obtained surface exhibited stable water repellency after modification with Teflon, and furthermore, based on solid theory analysis, such 3D ZnO nanostructure would exhibit excellent sensing performance.

Reversible tuning of the wettability of carbon nanotube arrays: the effect of ultraviolet/ozone and vacuum pyrolysis treatments

Among diverse types of synthetic materials, arrays of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes have attracted the most attention, mainly because of their exceptional mechanical, electrical, optical, and thermal properties. However, their wetting properties are yet to be understood. In this present study, oxygenated surface functional groups have been identified as a vital factor in controlling the wetting properties of carbon nanotube arrays. The results presented herein indeed show that a combination of ultraviolet/ozone and vacuum pyrolysis treatments can be used to vary the surface concentration of these functional groups such that the carbon nanotube array can be repeatedly switched between hydrophilic and hydrophobic.

Superhydrophobic surface based on a coral-like hierarchical structure of ZnO

BACKGROUND

Fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces has attracted much interest in the past decade. The fabrication methods that have been studied are chemical vapour deposition, the sol-gel method, etching technique, electrochemical deposition, the layer-by-layer deposition, and so on. Simple and inexpensive methods for manufacturing environmentally stable superhydrophobic surfaces have also been proposed lately. However, work referring to the influence of special structures on the wettability, such as hierarchical ZnO nanostructures, is rare.

METHODOLOGY

This study presents a simple and reproducible method to fabricate a superhydrophobic surface with micro-scale roughness based on zinc oxide (ZnO) hierarchical structure, which is grown by the hydrothermal method with an alkaline aqueous solution. Coral-like structures of ZnO were fabricated on a glass substrate with a micro-scale roughness, while the antennas of the coral formed the nano-scale roughness. The fresh ZnO films exhibited excellent superhydrophilicity (the apparent contact angle for water droplet was about 0°), while the ability to be wet could be changed to superhydrophobicity after spin-coating Teflon (the apparent contact angle greater than 168°). The procedure reported here can be applied to substrates consisting of other materials and having various shapes.

RESULTS

The new process is convenient and environmentally friendly compared to conventional methods. Furthermore, the hierarchical structure generates the extraordinary solid/gas/liquid three-phase contact interface, which is the essential characteristic for a superhydrophobic surface.

Superhydrophobic thermoplastic polyurethane films with transparent/fluorescent performance

In this paper, we report a simple and versatile route for the fabrication of superhydrophobic thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films. The approach is based on octadecanamide (ODAA)-directed assembly of nanosilica/TPU/ODAA hybrid with a well-defined sheetlike microstructure. The superhydrophobic hybrid film shows a transparent property, and its water contact angle reaches as high as 163.5° without any further low surface energy treatment. In addition, the superhydrophobic TPU hybrid film with fluorescent properties is achieved by smartly introducing CdTe quantum dots, which will extend potential application of the film to optoelectronic areas. The resulting fluorescent surface produced in this system is stable and has a water contact angle of 172.3°. This assembly method to control surface structures represents an intriguing and valuable route to tune the surface properties of organic-inorganic hybrid films.

Rapid formation of superhydrophobic surfaces with fast response wettability transition

We have developed a facile and time-saving method to prepare superhydrophobic surfaces on copper sheets. Various surface textures composed of Cu(OH)2 nanorod arrays and CuO microflowers/Cu(OH)2 nanorod arrays hierarchical structure were prepared by a simple solution-immersion process. After chemical modification with stearic acid, the wettability of the as-prepared surfaces was changed from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity. The shortest processing time for fabricating a superhydrophobic surface was 1.5 min. Interestingly, the rapid wettability transition between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity can be realized on the prepared surfaces with ease by the alternation of air-plasma treatment and stearic acid coating. It took just 2 min to complete the whole wettability transition. Additionally, the regeneration of the superhydrophobic surface is also considered regarding its application.

Rapid formation of a superhydrophobic surface on a magnesium alloy coated with a cerium oxide film by a simple immersion process at room temperature and its chemical stability

We have developed a facile, simple, time-saving method of creating a superhydrophobic surface on a magnesium alloy by a simple immersion process at room temperature. First, a crystalline CeO(2) film was vertically formed on the magnesium alloy by immersion in a cerium nitrate aqueous solution for 20 min. The density of the crystals vertically with respect to the magnesium alloy increased with increasing immersion time. Next, the film were covered with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS: CF(3)(CF(2))(7)CH(2)CH(2)Si(OCH(3))(3)) molecules within 30 min by immersion in a toluene solution containing FAS and tetrakis(trimethylsiloxy)titanium (TTST: (CH(3))(3)SiO)(4)Ti). TTST was used as a catalyst to promote the hydrolysis and/or polymerization of FAS molecules. The FAS-coated CeO(2) film had a static contact angle of more than 150 degrees, that is, a superhydrophobic property. The shortest processing time for the fabrication of the superhydrophobic surface was 40 min. The contact angle hysteresis decreased with an increase in the immersion time in the cerium nitrate aqueous solution. The chemical stability of the superhydrophobic surface on magnesium alloy AZ31 was investigated. The average static water contact angles of the superhydrophobic surfaces after immersion in the solutions at pH 4, 7, and 10 for 24 h were found to be 139.7 +/- 2, 140.0 +/- 2, and 145.7 +/- 2 degrees, respectively. In addition, the chemical stability of the superhydrophobic surface in the solutions at pH ranging from 1 to 14 was also examined. The superhydrophobic surfaces had static contact angles of more than 142 degrees in the solutions at pH ranging from 1 to 14, showing that our superhydrophobic surface had a high chemical stability. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of the superhydrophobic surface on the magnesium alloy was investigated using electrochemical measurements.

Mechanically durable carbon nanotube-composite hierarchical structures with superhydrophobicity, self-cleaning, and low-drag

Superhydrophobic surfaces with high contact angle and low contact angle hysteresis exhibit a self-cleaning effect and low drag for fluid flow. The lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) leaf is one of the examples found in nature for superhydrophobic surfaces. For the development of superhydrophobic surfaces, which is important for various applications such as glass windows, solar panels, and microchannels, materials and fabrication methods need to be explored to provide mechanically durable surfaces. It is necessary to perform durability studies on these surfaces. Carbon nanotube (CNT), composite structures which would lead to superhydrophobicity, self-cleaning, and low-drag, were prepared using a spray method. As a benchmark, structured surfaces with lotus wax were also prepared to compare with the durability of CNT composite structures. To compare the durability of the various fabricated surfaces, waterfall/jet tests were conducted to determine the loss of superhydrophobicity by changing the flow time and pressure conditions. Wear and friction studies were also performed using an atomic force microscope (AFM) and a ball-on-flat tribometer. The changes in the morphology of the structured surfaces were examined by AFM and optical imaging. We find that superhydrophobic CNT composite structures showed good mechanical durability, superior to the structured surfaces with lotus wax, and may be suitable for real world applications.

Preparation of superhydrophobic polymeric film on aluminum plates by electrochemical polymerization

6-(N-Allyl-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroperfluorododecyl)amino-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-dithiol monosodium (ATP) was used to prepare polymeric thin films on pure aluminum plates to achieve a superhydrophobic surface. The electrochemical polymerization process of ATP on aluminum plates in NaNO(2) aqueous solution and the formation of poly(6-(N-allyl-1,1,2,2-tetrahydroperfluorododecyl)amino-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-dithiol) (PATP) thin film were studied by means of optical ellipsometry and film weight. The chemical structure of the polymeric film is investigated using FT-IR spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Contact angle goniometry was applied to measure the contact angles with distilled water drops at ambient temperature. The experimental results indicate that the polymeric film formed on pure aluminum plates exhibits superhydrophobic properties with a distilled water contact angle of 153 degrees. The electrochemical polymerization process is time-saving, inexpensive, environmentally friendly and fairly convenient to carry out. It is expected that this technique will advance the production of superhydrophobic materials with new applications on a large scale. Moreover, this kind of polymeric thin film can be used as a dielectric material due to its insulating features.