Stable biomimetic super-hydrophobic engineering materials.
We describe a simple and inexpensive method to produce super-hydrophobic surfaces on aluminum and its alloy by oxidation and chemical modification. Water or aqueous solutions (pH = 1-14) have contact angles of 168 +/- 2 and 161 +/- 2 degrees on the treated surfaces of Al and Al alloy, respectively. The super-hydrophobic surfaces are produced by the cooperation of binary structures at micro- and nanometer scales, thus reducing the energies of the surfaces. Such super-hydrophobic properties will greatly extend the applications of aluminum and its alloy as lubricating materials.
Guo
Zhiguang
Z
State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, PR China.
Zhou
Feng
F
Hao
Jingcheng
J
Liu
Weimin
W
D000535:Aluminum / Q000737:chemistry; D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D002616:Chemical Engineering / Q000379:methods; D006860:Hydrogen Bonding; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D013499:Surface Properties
D000535:Aluminum