Tribological Performance of Sol-Gel Derived Superhydrophobic Film

doi:10.15541/jim20140421

Abstract

Abstract:

A simple two-step process was developed in this study to render aluminum with lower friction and superhydrophobicity. Alumina film was firstly fabricated on aluminum by Sol-Gel technology. Fatty acid was then deposited on alumina film to endow superhydrophobicity. The surface morphology of alumina film after treatment using boiling water or hydrazine solution was evaluated. The effect of molecular structure of fatty acid on the wettability of the composite film was investigated. Friction-reducing behavior of the superhydrophobic films on aluminum was determined in a ball-on-plate configuration. It was found that the stearic acid film on alumina film treated by hydrazine solution showed superhydrophobicity and low friction, leading to significantly extending lifespan of the alumina film.

Key words: Sol-Gel, aluminum, superhydrophobicity, friction-reducing performance

CLC Number:

O647

WAN Yong, ZHANG Quan, LI Yang. Tribological Performance of Sol-Gel Derived Superhydrophobic Film[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2015, 30(3): 299-304.

Figures/Tables 10

Fig. 1 XRD pattern of alumina film on aluminum

Fig. 2 SEM images of aluminum (a) and alumina films on aluminum (b)

Fig. 3 Dynamic wettability of untreated alumina film on aluminum

Table 1 Wetability of alumina films modified by stearic acid.

Alumina film	Contact angle /(^o)	Sliding angle /(^o)
Untreated	144	>20.0
Treated by boiling water	148	4.5
Treated by hydrazine hydrate	150	3.0

Fig. 4 SEM images of alumina film treated by boiling water (a) and hydrazine hydrate (b)

Fig. 5 IR spectra for steraic acid on various alumina films

Fig. 6 Friction coefficients of aluminum and alumina film modified by stearic acid

Fig. 7 SEM images for alumina films modified by stearic acid (a) Untreated alumina film; (b) Alumina film treated by boiling water; (c) Alumina film treated by hydrazine

Table 2 Wetability of various alumina films

Alumina film	Hydrophobic agent	Contact angle /(^o)	Sliding angle /(^o)
	Stearic acid	144	>20
Untreated	Lauric acid	141	>90
	Oleic acid	134	>90
	Stearic acid	150	3
Treated by hydrazine hydrate	Lauric acid	146	5
	Oleic acid	143	9

Fig. 8 Friction coefficient for alumina films modified by oleic acid, lauric acid, or stearic acid

References 38

[1]	LIU W, XIA Y, XUE Q.Effect of P-N type extreme pressure and anti wear additive on the friction and wear behaviour of aluminum steel sliding pair.Tribology, 2000, 20(5): 331-335.
[2]	HUANG W, YU Y, ZHANG X, et al.Effects of phosphorus additives on tribological performance of 7050 aluminum alloy.Chin. J. Nonferrous Metals, 2013, 23(3): 652-657.
[3]	KONISHI T, PEREZ J M.Properties of polyol esters--lubrication of an aluminum silicon alloy.Tribol. Trans. 1997, 40(3): 500-506.
[4]	SARMISTHA D, BISWAS S K.Boundary lubricated tribology of an aluminum-silicon alloy sliding against steel.Tribol. Lett., 2004, 17(3): 623-628.
[5]	BHUSHAN B.Handbook of Nanotechnology. Springer: Heidelberg, 2010.
[6]	MABOUDIAN R, CARRARO C.Surface chemistry and tribology of MEMS.Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem., 2005, 55(3): 35-54.
[7]	WILLIAMS J A, LE H R.Tribology and MEMS.J. Phys. D. Appl. Phys., 2006, 39(12): R201-R214.
[8]	LIU L, SONG S Y, ZHANG P Y.Preparation and micro- tribological study on dually mixed self-assembled monolayers.Acta Phys. Chim. Sin., 2012, 28(2): 427-432.
[9]	HOQUE E, DEROSE J A, HOFFMANN P, et al.Alkylperfluorosilane self-assembled monolayers on aluminum: a comparison with alkylphosphonate self-assembled monolayers.J. Phys. Chem. C, 2007, 111(10): 3956-3962.
[10]	KHATRI O P, BAIN C D, BISWAS S K.Effects of chain length and heat treatment on the nanotribology of alkylsilane monolayers self-assembled on a rough aluminum surface.J. Phys. Chem. B, 2005, 109(49): 23405-23414.
[11]	BARTHLOTT W, NEINHUIS C.Purity of the sacred lotus, or escape from contamination in biological surfaces.Planta, 1997, 202(1): 1-8.
[12]	CHU Z, SEEGER S.Superamphiphobic surfaces.Chem. Soc. Rev., 2014, 43(8): 2784-2798.
[13]	LIU X, LIANG Y, ZHOU F, et al.Extreme wettability and tunable adhesion: biomimicking beyond nature?Soft Matter, 2012, 8(7): 2070-2086.
[14]	LIU K, JIANG L.Metallic surfaces with special wettability.Nanoscale, 2011, 3(3): 825-838.
[15]	GUO Z, LIU W, SU B L.Superhydrophobic surfaces: from natural to biomimetic to functional.J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2011, 353(2): 335-355.
[16]	ZHANG Y L, XIA H, KIM E, et al.Recent developments in superhydrophobic surfaces with unique structural and functional properties.Soft Matter, 2012, 8(44): 11217-11231.
[17]	DI Z Y, HE J P, ZHOU J H, et al.Fabrication and anticorrosion property of superhydrophobic surfaces with hierarchical structure through an organic-inorganic self-assemble process.J. Inorg. Mater., 2010, 25(7): 765-769.
[18]	RUAN M, LI W, WANG B, et al.Preparation and anti-icing behavior of superhydrophobic surfaces on aluminum alloy substrates.Langmuir, 2013, 29(27): 8482-8491.
[19]	GHALMI Z, FARZANEH M.Durability of nanostructured coatings based on PTFE nanoparticles deposited on porous aluminum alloy.Appl. Surf. Sci., 2014, 314: 564-569.
[20]	MENINI R, GHALMI Z, FARZANEH M.Highly resistant icephobic coatings on aluminum alloys.Cold Reg. Sci. Technol., 2011, 65(1): 65-69.
[21]	ZHANG F, ZHAO L, CHEN H, et al.Corrosion resistance of superhydrophobic layered double hydroxide films on aluminium.Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Eng., 2008, 47(13): 2466-2469.
[22]	HUBERT T, SCHWARZ J, OERTEL B.Sol-Gel alumina coatings on stainless steel for wear protection.J. Sol-Gel Sci. Techn. 2006, 38(2): 179-184.
[23]	ZHELUDKEVICH M L, MIRANDA SALVADO I, FERREIRAG M G S. Sol-Gel coatings for corrosion protection of metals.J. Mater. Chem., 2005, 15(4): 5099-5111.
[24]	ZHENG S, LI J.Inorganic-organic Sol-Gel hybrid coatings for corrosion protection of metals.J. Sol-Gel Sci. Technol, 2010, 54(2): 174-187.
[25]	LIU W, CHEN Y, LI B.Research progress on preparation and tribological investigation of Sol-Gel-derived ceramic-based ultra- thin films.Tribology. 2003, 23(2): 162-167.
[26]	FU Q, CAO C B, ZHU H S.Preparation of alumina films from a new Sol-Gel route.Thin Solid Films, 1999, 348(1/2): 99-102.
[27]	BOWDEN F P, GREGORY J N, TABOR D.Lubrication of metal surfaces by fatty acids.Nature 1945, 156(3952): 97-101.
[28]	SAHOO R R, BISWAS S K.Frictional response of fatty acids on steel.J. Colloid Interface Sci., 2009, 333(2): 707-718.
[29]	RUTHS M, LUNDGREN S, DANERLÖV K, et al. Friction of fatty acids in nanometer-sized contacts of different adhesive strength.Langmuir, 2008, 24(4): 1509-1516.
[30]	WU Y L, CHEN Z, ZENG X T.Nanoscale morphology for high hydrophobicity of a hard Sol-Gel thin film.Appl. Surf. Sci. 2008, 254(21): 6952-6958.
[31]	YAMAGUCHI N, TADANAGA K, MATSUDA A, et al.Formation of anti-reflective alumina films on polymer substrates by the Sol-Gel process with hot water treatment.Surf. Coatings Technol. 2006, 201(6): 3653-3657.
[32]	MA W, WU H, HIGAKI Y, et al.A "non-sticky" superhydrophobic surface prepared by self-assembly of fluoroalkyl phosphonic acid on a hierarchically micro/nanostructured alumina gel film.Chem. Commun., 2012, 48: 6824-6826.
[33]	LAIBINIS P E, HICKMAN J J, WRIGHTON M S, et al.Orthogonal self-assembled monolayers: alkanethiols on gold and alkane carboxylic acids on alumina.Science, 1989, 245(4920): 845-847.
[34]	TAO Y T.Structural comparison of self-assembled monolayers of n-alkanoic acids on the surfaces of silver, copper, and aluminum.J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993, 115(10): 4350-4358.
[35]	DOWSON D.History of tribology. London: Professional Engineering Publishing, 1998.
[36]	JOHNSON K L, KENDALL K, ROBERTS A D.Surface energy and the contact of elastic solids.Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A. 1971, 324(1558): 301-313.
[37]	BEAKE B D, LEGGETT G I.Variation of frictional forces in air with the compositions of heterogeneous organic surfaces.Langmuir. 2000, 16(2): 735-739.
[38]	CHENG H,HU Y . Influence of chain ordering on frictional properties of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in nano-lubrication. Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., 2012, 171-172: 53-65.