SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERHYDROPHOBIC ZnO HIERARCHICAL STRUCTURES

Abstract

ZnO films with well-aligned hierarchical structures have been successfully synthesized at moderate temperatures using a simple catalyst-free hydrothermal process. The synthesized ZnO films are found to be single-phase, with a hexagonal wurtzite-type structure. Scanning electron microscopy images show that the well-aligned hierarchical structures are assembled with interlaced parallel sheets grown on the (400) silica surface. The water contact angle measurement indicates that the water on the films has a contact angle of about 156.3°. This clearly demonstrates that the ZnO films synthesized by this simple method have superhydrophobic properties and may be important for applications in self-cleaning surfaces, biology, and so on.