Bioinspired micro/nano structured aluminum with multifaceted applications

• Published in: Colloids and surfaces, B, Biointerfaces B, Biointerfaces, 2022-03, Vol.211, p.112311-112311, Article 112311
• Main Authors: Mandal, Priya, Ivvala, Jayanth, Arora, Harpreet S., Ghosh, Sajal K., Grewal, Harpreet S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum; Animals; Antibacterial; Biofouling - prevention & control; Corrosion resistance; E. coli; Nanostructures - chemistry; Self-cleaning; Superhydrophilic; Superhydrophobic; Surface Properties; Wettability
• ISSN: 0927-7765; 1873-4367
• DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfb.2021.112311

Inspired by many biological systems such as lotus leaves, insect wings and rose petals, great attention has been devoted to the study and fabrication of artificial superhydrophobic surfaces with multiple functionalities. In the present study, a simple and ecological synthesis route has been employed for large scale fabrication of self-assembled, sustainable nanostructures on unprocessed and micro imprinted aluminum surfaces named ‘Nano’ and ‘Hierarchy’. The processed samples show extreme wettability ranging from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity depending on post-processing conditions. The densely packed ellipsoidal nanostructures exhibited superhydrophobicity with excellent water, bacterial and dust repellency when modified by low surface energy material 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (FOTES), characterized by a static contact angle of 163 ± 1° and contact angle hysteresis (CAH) ~3°. These coated surfaces show significant corrosion resistance with current density of 6 nA/cm2 which is 40 times lower than unprocessed counterpart and retain chemical stability after prolonged immersion in corrosive media. These surfaces show excellent self-cleaning ability with significantly low water consumption (