UV-induced wettability change of teflon-modified ZnO nanorod arrays on LiNbO3 substrate

Aligned ZnO nanorod arrays films were grown on LiNbO₃ substrates by aqueous growth, and subsequently rendered superhydrophobic with RF sputtered coated Teflon. The as-prepared surface exhibits superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle (CA) of 154.5deg. After 2 hours of UV irradiation on the surface, the surface wettability was approaching hydrophilic state; CA was measured to be 113deg. This study provides insights into the methodology of a low cost, efficient technique that has great potential for preparing nanostructured surface with tunable wettability.