Abstract
In this communication, we present a versatile and controllable strategy for formation of superhydrophobic micro/nano hierarchical Al doped ZnO (AZO) films with a water contact angle (CA) of 170 ± 4°. This strategy involves a two-step layer-by-layer process employing an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique followed by a hydrothermal method, and the resulting novel AZO surface layer consists of (100) dominant nano-rice-like AZO seed layer (the water CA of 110 ± 4°) covered with micro-peony-like AZO top. The growth mechanisms and superhydrophobic properties of the hierarchical AZO layer are discussed. It is believed that the present route holds promise for future success in the design and development of practical superhydrophobic materials.
Highlights
Al-doped ZnO (AZO) materials have attracted considerable attentions owing to their unique optical and electrical properties, such as wide band gap and high exciton binding energy[7,8,9]
The Al doped ZnO (AZO) seed layer was formed on the silica and glass substrates through deposition using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) method
The results indicate that the AZO seed layer possesses a wurtzite crystal structure according to the standard data (JCPDS, No 99–1111) with (100) preferred plane, different from (002) dominant ZnO thin layer prepared using other methods like the sol-gel and magnetron sputtering methods[26]
Summary
Al-doped ZnO (AZO) materials have attracted considerable attentions owing to their unique optical and electrical properties, such as wide band gap and high exciton binding energy[7,8,9]. Micro-nano AZO structures were fabricated subsequently using the hydrothermal method, plasma etching, and vapor deposition on the seed layer[14,15]. It is worth fabricating the special and micro/nano hierarchical AZO structure surface, by enhancing the surface roughness, so that superhydrophobic AZO films materials can be achieved, without involving the perfluorinated material. Other orientation dominant seed layer tends to induce more complex micro nanostructure for superhydrophobic surface[17]. We present a facile strategy to fabricate superhydrophobic AZO film using an atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique and hydrothermal methods. The micro-flower-structure AZO layer continuously grows on the seed layer using the hydrothermal method. Owing to the flexibility of the ALD technique, the facile two-step strategy introduced here is a promising candidate in the photoelectrical applications such as flexible photovoltaics and displays
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