Characterisation of microstructure and evaluation of optical and EPR properties of superhydrophobic copper dodecanoate films

Copper dodecanoate films prepared by emulsion method exhibit superhydrophobic property with water contact angle of 155° and sliding angle of <2°. The films have been characterised by using X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. Surface microstructure of copper dodecanoate consists of numerous microscale papillas of about 6–12 µm in length with a diameter in the range of 360–700 nm. The superhydrophobicity of the films is due to their dual micronano surface morphology. The wetting behaviour of the film surface was studied by a simple water immersion test. The results show that copper dodecanoate film retained superhydrophobic property even after immersing in water for about 140 h. The optical absorption spectrum exhibits two broadbands centred at 388 and 630 nm that have been assigned to ²B_1g → ²E_g and ²B_1g → ²B_2g transitions of Cu²⁺ ions, respectively. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum exhibits two resonance signals with effective g values at g_|| ≈ 2.308 and g_⊥ ≈ 2.071, which suggests that the unpaired electron occupies d_x2–y2 orbital in the ground state. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.