title: Investigating the interface of superhydrophobic surfaces in contact with water.
abstract: Neutron reflectivity (NR) is used to probe the solid, liquid, vapor interface of a porous superhydrophobic (SH) surface submerged in water. A low-temperature, low-pressure technique was used to prepare a rough, highly porous organosilica aerogel-like film. UV/ozone treatments were used to control the surface coverage of hydrophobic organic ligands on the silica framework, allowing the contact angle with water to be continuously varied over the range of 160 degrees (superhydrophobic) to <10 degrees (hydrophilic). NR shows that the superhydrophobic nature of the surface prevents infiltration of water into the porous film. Atomic force microscopy and density functional theory simulations are used in combination to interpret the NR results and help establish the location, width, and nature of the SH film-water interface.
authors.affiliation: Lujan Neutron Scattering Center, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA.
authors.forename: Dhaval A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Doshi
authors.forename: Pratik B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Seema
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Eric D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: Branson
authors.forename: Anthony P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Malanoski
authors.forename: Erik B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: Jaroslaw
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Majewski
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Swol
authors.forename: C Jeffrey
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Brinker