Abstract
The formation of material surfaces by tuning the wettability are highly intriguing for numerous applications. In this paper, we demonstrate a simple but effective procedure to impart superhydrophobicity to an aluminum alloy (AA5083) via microwave-assisted hydrothermal processing. The surface morphology was effectively tuned by altering processing temperatures. Subsequently, the processed samples were grafted with precursors of a silanizing agent. The growth of nanostructures and its surface topology of processed samples were studied in detail using field emission scanning electron microscope followed by atomic force microscopy. The wetting of silanized surfaces was assessed through static and dynamic contact angle methods using various surface tension droplets (72 to 28 mN.m-1). In addition, the adhesion of silanized surfaces was described by distinct wetting models (i.e., Cassie, Cassie impregnating and Wenzel) with the effect of surface tension. The results show that, highly dense networked (HDN) silanized samples exhibited a superior contact angle (θs>160) with a very low contact angle hysteresis and tilt angle (θt<5). Silanized HDN samples showed low adhesion (~30 μN) compared to its counterpart by exhibiting stable Cassie state with effectively entrapping air. The former also showed stable Cassie state in repelling liquids during drop impact under dynamic conditions.
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