Preparation of biomimetic superhydrophobic surface by a facile one-step pulse electrodeposition.

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces in natural world, such as lotus leaves, are commonly attributed to a combination of hierarchical micro/nano structures and low surface energy materials, giving inspiration for the preparation of artificial superhydrophobic surfaces. In this work, with an equivalent electrolytic time of 10 min, superhydrophobic surfaces on copper substrates were prepared by an one-step pulse electrodepositing process with different frequency in an electrolyte containing lanthanum chloride (LaCl3•6H2O), myristic acid (CH3(CH2)12COOH) and ethanol. Surface morphology, chemical composition and superhydrophobic property were investigated with SEM, EDX, FTIR and contact angle meter. The results show that the as-prepared surfaces have micro/nano dual scale structures mainly consisting of lanthanum myristate (La[CH3(CH2)12COO]3). The maximum water contact angle (WCA) is about 160.3°. This method is time-saving and can be easily extended to other conductive materials.