We developed a simple fabrication method to prepare a superamphiphobic aluminum surface. On the basis of a low-energy surface and the combination of micro- and nanoscale roughness, the resultant surface became super-repellent toward a wide range of liquids with surface tensions of 25.3-72.1 mN m(-1). The applied approach involved (1) the formation of an irregular microplateau structure on an aluminum surface, (2) the fabrication of a nanoplatelet structure, and (3) fluorination treatment. The chemical stability and mechanical durability of the superamphiphobic surface were evaluated in detail. The results demonstrated that the surface presented an excellent chemical stability toward cool corrosive liquids (HCl/NaOH solutions, 25 °C) and 98% concentrated sulfuric acid, hot liquids (water, HCl/NaOH solutions, 30-100 °C), solvent immersion, high temperature, and a long-term period. More importantly, the surface also exhibited robust mechanical durability and could withstand multiple-fold, finger-touch, intensive scratching by a sharp blade, ultrasonication treatment, boiling treatment in water and coffee, repeated peeling by adhesive tape, and even multiple abrasion tests under 500 g of force without losing superamphiphobicity. The as-prepared superamphiphobic surface was also demonstrated to have excellent corrosion resistance. This work provides a simple, cost-effective, and highly efficient method to fabricate a chemically stable and mechanically robust superamphiphobic aluminum surface, which can find important outdoor applications.

No abstract

In this study, a large-area superhydrophobic alumina surface with a series of superior properties was fabricated via an economical, simple, and highly effective one-step anodization process, and subsequently modified with low-surface-energy film. The effects of the anodization parameters including electrochemical anodization time, current density, and electrolyte temperature on surface morphology and surface wettability were investigated in detail. The hierarchical alumina pyramids-on-pores (HAPOP) rough structure which was produced quickly through the one-step anodization process together with a low-surface-energy film deposition [1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PDES) and stearic acid (STA)] confer excellent superhydrophobicity and an extremely low sliding angle. Both the PDES-modified superhydrophobic (PDES-MS) and the STA-modified superhydrophobic (STA-MS) surfaces present fascinating nonwetting and extremely slippery behaviors. The chemical stability and mechanical durability of the PDES-MS and STA-MS surfaces were evaluated and discussed. Compared with the STA-MS surface, the as-prepared PDES-MS surface possesses an amazing chemical stability which not only can repel cool liquids (water, HCl/NaOH solutions, around 25 °C), but also can show excellent resistance to a series of hot liquids (water, HCl/NaOH solutions, 30-100 °C) and hot beverages (coffee, milk, tea, 80 °C). Moreover, the PDES-MS surface also presents excellent stability toward immersion in various organic solvents, high temperature, and long time period. In particular, the PDES-MS surface achieves good mechanical durability which can withstand ultrasonication treatment, finger-touch, multiple fold, peeling by adhesive tape, and even abrasion test treatments without losing superhydrophobicity. The corrosion resistance and durability of the diverse-modified superhydrophobic surfaces were also examined. These fascinating performances makes the present method suitable for large-scale industrial fabrication of chemically stable and mechanically robust superhydrophobic surfaces.

No abstract

No abstract