Nanostructured superhydrophobic ZnO surface layer on Al-substrate

Nanostructured superhydrophobic ZnO films have been fabricated on aluminum surface by a simple and cost effective chemical bath deposition technique. A perfectly hexagonal shape of ZnO nanoplates is clearly observed in the scanning electron microscopic images. The average size of these unique hexagonal plates is ~ 4 μm side and ~ 30 nm of thickness. The tendency to form hexagonal morphological features is due to the hexagonal crystal structure of the ZnO. On stearic acid passivated ZnO surface, the superhydrophobicity is achieved by observing water contact angle of greater than 160° with a contact angle hysteresis of less than 5°. The superhydrophobicity of nanostructured ZnO film is observed due to high surface roughness and low surface energy