Robust superhydrophobicity of hierarchical ZnO hollow microspheres fabricated by two-step self-assembly

• Published in: Nano research 2013-10, Vol.6 (10), p.726-735
• Main Authors: Sun, Ziqi, Liao, Ting, Liu, Kesong, Jiang, Lei, Kim, Jung Ho, Dou, Shi Xue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Architecture; Atomic/Molecular Structure and Spectra; Biomedicine; Biotechnology; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Contact angle; Electric potential; Hydrophobic surfaces; Irradiation; Light; Materials Science; Metal oxides; Microspheres; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanostructure; Nanotechnology; Nanowires; Polyethylene; Research Article; Self assembly; Surfactants; Thin films; Ultraviolet radiation; Zinc oxide; 助表面活性剂; 氧化锌; 空心微球; 紫外线照射; 纳米结构; 自组装; 超疏水性表面; 鲁棒
• ISSN: 1998-0124; 1998-0000
• DOI: 10.1007/s12274-013-0350-6

Superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces have been extensively inves- tigated due to their importance for industrial applications. It has been reported, however, that superhydrophobic surfaces are very sensitive to heat, ultraviolet （UV） light, and electric potential, which interfere with their long-term durability. In this study, we introduce a novel approach to achieve robust superhydrophobic thin films by designing architecture-defined complex nanostructures. A family of ZnO hollow microspheres with controlled constituent architectures in the morphologies of 1D nanowire networks, 2D nanosheet stacks, and 3D mesoporous nanoball blocks, respectively, was synthesized via a two-step self-assembly approach, where the oligomers or the constituent nanostructures with specially designed structures are first formed from surfactant templates, and then further assembled into complex morphologies by the addition of a second co-surfactant. The thin films composed of two-step synthesized ZnO hollow microspheres with different architectures presented superhydrophobicities with contact angles of 150°-155°, superior to the contact angle of 103° for one-step synthesized ZnO hollow microspheres with smooth and solid surfaces. Moreover, the robust superhydrophobicity was further improved by perfluorinated silane surface modification. The perfluorinated silane treated ZnO hollow microsphere thin films maintained excellent hydrophobicity even after 75 h of UV irradiation. The realization of environmentally durable promising solution for their long-term irradiations. superhydrophobic surfaces provides a service under UV or strong solar light