Resistance of Superhydrophobic Surface-Functionalized TiO2 Nanotubes to Corrosion and Intense Cavitation

Abstract

The availability of robust superhydrophobic materials with the ability to withstand harsh environments are in high demand for many applications. In this study, we have presented a simple method to fabricate superhydrophobic materials from TiO2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs) and investigated the resilience of the materials when they are subjected to harsh conditions such as intense cavitation upon ultrasonication, corrosion in saline water, water-jet impact, and abrasion. The TNTAs were prepared by anodization of Ti foil in buffered aqueous electrolyte containing fluoride ions. The hydrophilic TNTAs were functionalized with octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) or 1H, 1H′, 2H, 2H′-perfluorodecyl phosphonic acid (PFDPA) to form a self-assembled monolayer on the TNTA surface to produce superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA or PFDPA@TNTA surfaces. The superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA have contact angles of 156.0° ± 1.5° and 168° ± 1.5°, and contact angle hysteresis of 3.0° and 0.8°, respectively. The superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA were subjected to ultrasonication, corrosion in saline water, and water-jet impact and abrasion, and the resilience of the systems was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), contact angle (CA) measurements, diffuse reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (DRIFTS), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results presented here show that superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA and PFDPA@TNTA are robust and resilient under the harsh conditions studied in this work, and indicate the potential of these materials to be deployed in practical applications.

Robust Polymer Nanocomposite Membranes Incorporating Discrete TiO2 Nanotubes for Water Treatment

“…A vibrational spectrum of ODPA monolayer functionalized TiO 2 nanotubes was collected to validate the successful chemical functionalization of TiO 2 NTs surface with ODPA molecules (Figure 4a). The FTIR spectrum of ODPA functionalized TiO 2 exhibits a characteristic IR absorption band at 2848 and 2917 cm −1 due to symmetric and anti-symmetric C–H stretching vibrations of CH 2 in alkyl chain of ODPA [35,36,39]. The IR peak at 3019 cm −1 was derived from C–H stretch of terminal methyl (–CH 3 ) groups.…”

“…In the present study, the effect of incorporation of different concentrations of discrete TiO 2 NTs on the physicochemical characteristics and permeation properties of the polyethersulfone (PES) membranes are reported. In addition, bare TiO 2 nanotubes are superhydrophilic and can be rendered superhydrophobic or amphiphobic if needed by suitable surface functionalization [35,36].…”

Gradient 3D Printed PLA Scaffolds on Biomedical Titanium: Mechanical Evaluation and Biocompatibility

“…The reason is that toughness increases due to TNTs nanoarchitecture. Moreover, it has been reported that 100 nm diameter TNTs are hydrophobic [ 27 , 28 ] and thereof they block the water uptake in the overlap region.…”

Fabrication and Evaluation of Nano-TiO2 Superhydrophobic Coating on Asphalt Pavement

“…When the weight ratio of modified-ZnO to fluorinated polysiloxane was 13:7, the contact angle of nanocomposite coating was 166°, and a sliding angle of 4°, was coating surface with hierarchical micro/nano-structures. Hua et al [ 22 ] presented a simple method to fabricate superhydrophobic materials from TiO 2 nanotube arrays (TNTAs). The hydrophilic TNTAs were functionalized with octadecyl phosphonic acid (ODPA) or 1H, 1H′, 2H, 2H′-perfluorodecyl phosphonic acid (PFDPA) to form a self-assembled monolayer on the TNTA surface to produce superhydrophobic ODPA@TNTA or PFDPA@TNTA surfaces.…”