Fabrication of Aluminum Superhydrophobic Surface with Facile Chemical Etching Method

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted much interest for its potential applications. In this study, the superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces were fabricated by method of chemical etching. Aluminum surfaces were firstly chemically etched by hydrochloric acid, and modified with stearic acid. The relationship between the etching time and the surface hydrophobicity was investigated. The contact angle and the sliding angle were tested, the results showed that with increasing etching time, the contact angle experienced a rise and then decrease, while the sliding angle dropped first and then started to climb. A maximum value of 152 degrees for the contact angle and a minimum value of 3 degrees for the sliding angle were obtained with etching time of 1 minute. The results indicated an ideal superhydrophobic property of the aluminum surfaces.