A corrosion-resistance superhydrophobic TiO2 film

A superhydrophobic TiO₂ film with water contact angle greater than 170° on Hastelloy substrate was fabricated through simply dip-coating method from TiO₂ precursor solution containing TiO₂ nanoparticles with the average diameter 25 nm, followed by heat-treatment and modification with fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) molecules. The as-obtained sample was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and water contact angle measurement respectively. Moreover, the dynamic light scattering (DLS) size distribution of TiO₂ aggregated particles in the TiO₂ precursor solution containing P25 particles was evaluated by Laser Particle Sizer. It is found that the TiO₂ nanoparticles in TiO₂ precursor solution play a crucial role to form high superhydrophobicity. Simultaneously, the superhydrophobic TiO₂ film still showed great superhydrophobicity after corroded with strong acid or alkali solutions and protected the substrate from corrosion which should be critical to the potential application in industry.