Preparation of Superhydrophobic Surface Based on SiC Particulate Reinforced Composite

doi:10.15541/jim20150456

Abstract

Abstract:

Micro- and nano-structures were prepared based on SiC particulate reinforced composite substrate using electrochemical etching process, and effects of current density and etching time on morphology characteristics and superhydrophobicity of the etched surfaces were investigated. The results show that a special hierarchical structure consisting of particle-shaped microstructures and nano-structrues (particle- or squama-shaped) is formed on the etched SiC/Al composite at the current density of 6 A/dm², which keeps almost unchanged during etching period. Under optimized process conditions, superhydrophobic surface can be obtained, achieving a water contact angle of up to 160.7° and an extremely small tilting angle of 4°. All these data demonstrate that SiC/Al composite has potential to be used as self-cleaning surface.

Key words: superhydrophobic surface, electrochemical etching, SiC/Al composite, hierarchical structure

CLC Number:

TG66

BAO Xiao-Hui, MING Ping-Mei, BI Xiang-Yang. Preparation of Superhydrophobic Surface Based on SiC Particulate Reinforced Composite[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2016, 31(4): 383-387.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Surface topography of SiC/Al composites before (a) and after (b) being etched under current of 1 A/dm2 and 6 A/dm2 (c)

Fig. 2 Nanostructure images of SiC/Al composite after being etched under current of 1 A/dm2 (a,b) and 6 A/dm2 (c,d)

Table 1 Composition of electrolyte and process parameters

Electrolyte and process parameter	Value
NaNO₃/(g·L^-1)	6.5
Current density/(A·dm^-2)	0-6
Temperature/℃	RT
Time/min	0-20

Fig. 3 Changes of the surface wettability of the composite substrates with current density

Fig. 4 Optical photo of 8 µL water droplets on the superhydrophobic composite surface after being etched under current 6 A/dm2 for 5 min

Fig. 5 Surface wettability of the composite substrates varied by etching time

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