Superhydrophobic zinc oxide film: effect of hybrid nanostructure on hydrophobicity and wetting stability

Superhydrophobic surfaces have been attracting research interest in the areas of self-cleaning, drag reduction and fog condensation. However, many artificial superhydrophobic surfaces may be wetted under fluidic pressure and lose superhydrophobicity. To address this issue, the effect of surface morphologies on hydrophobicity and wetting stability should be investigated thoroughly. In this study, the authors describe a hybrid ZnO nanostructure which can be achieved by hydrothermal method. The hybrid nanostructure is constructed with a ZnO nanorods layer topped with a porous ZnO layer. The specific assembling format of the ZnO layers enhanced the stability of superhydrophobicity.