Abstract
The availability of robust superhydrophobic materials with the ability to withstand harsh environments are in high demand for many applications. In this study, we have presented a simple method to fabricate superhydrophobic materials from TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) and investigated the resilience of the materials when they are subjected to harsh conditions such as intense cavitation upon ultrasonication, corrosion in saline water, water-jet impact, and abrasion. The TNTAs were prepared by anodization of Ti foil in buffered aqueous electrolyte containing fluoride ions. The hydrophilic TNTAs were functionalized with octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) or 1H, 1H′, 2H, 2H′-perfluorodecyl phosphonic acid (PFDPA) to form a self-assembled monolayer on the TNTA surface to produce superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA or PFDPA@TNTA surfaces. The superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA have contact angles of 156.0° ± 1.5° and 168° ± 1.5°, and contact angle hysteresis of 3.0° and 0.8°, respectively. The superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA were subjected to ultrasonication, corrosion in saline water, and water-jet impact and abrasion, and the resilience of the systems was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), contact angle (CA) measurements, diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results presented here show that superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA are robust and resilient under the harsh conditions studied in this work, and indicate the potential of these materials to be deployed in practical applications.
Highlights
The production of liquid-repellent surfaces is an important and popular research topic
The rough morphological characteristics of the TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) show that it is an ideal motif for forming superhydrophobic surfaces
Robust and resilient superhydrophobic materials have been fabricated from TiO2 nanotube arrays by anodization of Ti foil and subsequent functionalization with octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) and perfluorodecyl phosphonic acid (PFDPA)
Summary
The production of liquid-repellent surfaces is an important and popular research topic. The CA values of liquid droplets on a microscopically rough surface can be described theoretically by the Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter models [8]. According to the Wenzel model, the interaction of a liquid with a rough substrate results in the stabilization of liquid droplets through an increase in the contact area of the liquid, as it can wet the grooves of the rough substrate, while in the Cassie-Baxter model, the assumption is that the contact area between liquid and rough substrate is minimal because of the trapped air in the grooves of the rough micro- and/or nanoscale surfaces. Many different techniques have been employed to fabricate rationally designed rough textures on surfaces in order to minimize the liquid–solid contact area fraction parameter and enhance the generation of Cassie-Baxter states [10,11,12,13,14]. The durability of superhydrophobic surfaces has been termed as the single biggest obstacle preventing their deployment in real world applications [20]
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