Fabrication and performance of a superhydrophobic fluorine-modified porous silicon based on photocatalytic hydrosilylation

Abstract

Porous silicon was widely used in displays, optical sensors, and biological imaging due to its high surface areas, adjustable microstructure, large adsorption capacity and excellent optical performance. Unfortunately, there are numerous reactive silane groups on the freshly etched porous silicon surface, which are susceptible to oxidization in the air, thereby affecting the optical performance and stability of porous silicon. This study provides an efficient strategy of using photocatalytic reaction to graft dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate to freshly prepared n-type porous silicon surface, thereby generating a fluorine-modified porous silicon with high stability and superhydrophobic surface. The structure and composition of porous silicon before and after modification were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The effects of UV light, reactant mass fraction and reaction time on the surface properties of porous silicon were studied by water contact angle (WCA) and photoluminescence (PL). The results indicated that the dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate was successfully grafted onto n-type porous silicon surface by photocatalytic reaction. The superhydrophobic and luminescent porous silicon was prepared by reacting 40 min in a dichloride solution containing 10 wt% dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate under UV light. The WCA of the fluorine-modified porous silicon surface could reach 153° and had good photoluminescence intensity. This modified porous silicon surface had great stability in alkaline and air environment. After treated with alkaline droplets for 30 min, the WCA of modified porous silicon could maintain above 150° and had good photoluminescence. And under room temperature within a week, the porous silicon surface still showed great hydrophobic properties and photoluminescence intensity. In addition, the modified porous silicon has different responsiveness to ethanol solutions of different concentrations, which could be applied to alcohol sensors and has great development prospects. • A fluorine-modified porous silicon was synthesized by a simple and efficient photocatalytic reaction. • The WCA of the fluorine-modified porous silicon surface could reach 153°. • The photoluminescence intensity showed a great stability in alkaline and air environment.