Variation in the contact angle of zinc oxide nanostructures with the passage of time

Abstract

The development of clean materials has increased; these materials present a surface modification that makes them neat and easy to clean. The direct improvement in the impermeability of materials is generated by manipulating the structures present on the surfaces, generating selfcleaning coatings (hydrophobic surfaces). The modification can be developed by superficially synthesizing nanostructures of specific shapes on some solid that prevent the passage of liquids between them, for example, zinc oxide nanowires that exhibit a high contact angle due to their geometry. The synthesis of these nanostructures is low cost and simple, making it a viable alternative to achieve hydrophobic surfaces that are selfcleaning. The present work shows how the synthesis factors of these nanostructures impact their contact angle. Hydrophobic contact angles were obtained in most samples and nanostructures averaging 290 nm and average lengths of 2.2 μm.