Energy and Sustainability Research Division, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Langmuir. 2012 Aug 21;28(33):12256-65. doi: 10.1021/la302627n. Epub 2012 Aug 9.
Nanoparticles have been applied into the construction of micro- and nanoscaled surface structures with extreme wettability over the past few years. However, the details of processing and employing colloidal nanosuspensions for this purpose have not yet been fully investigated. In this work, we study the surface structures formed via nanosuspensions, in which nanoparticles of solid phase are presented, and the caused surface wettability. We disperse silica nanoparticles with different sizes into pure ethanol to prepare nanosuspensions with a series of concentrations. The suspensions are ultrasonically processed to prompt uniform distribution of nanoparticles before application. The deposited nanosuspensions are thermally treated to assist the regulation of surface patterns based on nanoparticles. Hence, the investigation explores a variety of experimental conditions that will lead to distinctive surface structures and wettabilities. Accordingly, the wettability of the induced surfaces is investigated using contact angle measurement, and the structures of those surfaces are mainly revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Superhydrophilicity is observed on many of such formed surfaces, and the pattern of surface structures in micro- and nanoscale is closely related to the processing conditions and the size of nanoparticles. Thus, we report the characteristics of the surface patterns based on nanoparticles and the formed wettability.
近年来，纳米粒子已被应用于构建具有超润湿性的微纳尺度表面结构。然而，对于这一目的，胶体纳米悬浮液的处理和使用细节尚未得到充分研究。在这项工作中，我们研究了通过纳米悬浮液形成的表面结构，其中存在固相纳米粒子，并研究了由此产生的表面润湿性。我们将不同尺寸的二氧化硅纳米粒子分散在纯乙醇中，制备了一系列浓度的纳米悬浮液。在应用之前，将悬浮液进行超声处理以促使纳米粒子均匀分布。将沉积的纳米悬浮液进行热处理，以辅助基于纳米粒子的表面图案的调节。因此，研究探索了各种实验条件，这些条件将导致不同的表面结构和润湿性。因此，使用接触角测量法研究了诱导表面的润湿性，并且通过原子力显微镜（AFM）主要揭示了这些表面的结构。在许多这样形成的表面上观察到超亲水性，并且表面结构的图案在微纳尺度上与处理条件和纳米粒子的尺寸密切相关。因此，我们报告了基于纳米粒子的表面图案和形成的润湿性的特征。
