ZnO micro–nano composite hydrophobic film prepared by the three-step method

Abstract

The hydrophobicity of the lotus leaf is mainly due to its surface micro–nano composite structure. In order to mimic the lotus structure, ZnO micro–nano composite hydrophobic films were prepared via the three-step method. On thin buffer films of SiO2, which were first fabricated on glass substrates by the sol–gel dip-coating method, a ZnO seed layer was deposited via RF magnetron sputtering. Then two different ZnO films, micro–nano and micro-only flower-like structures, were grown by the hydrothermal method. The prepared films have different hydrophobic properties after surface modification. The structures of the obtained ZnO films were characterized using x-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. A conclusion that a micro–nano composite structure is more beneficial to hydrophobicity than a micro-only structure was obtained through research into the effect of structure on hydrophobic properties.