Hydrophobic metallic nanorods with Teflon nanopatches

Introducing a hydrophobic property to vertically aligned hydrophilic metallic nanorods was investigated experimentally and theoretically. The platinum nanorod arrays were deposited on flat silicon substrates using a sputter glancing angle deposition technique (GLAD). Then a thin layer of Teflon (nanopatch) was partially deposited on the tips of platinum nanorods at a glancing angle of theta(dep) = 85 degrees for different deposition times. Teflon deposition on Pt nanorods at normal incidence (theta(dep) = 0 degrees) was also performed for comparison. Morphology and elemental analysis of Pt/Teflon nanocomposite structures were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDAX), respectively. It was found that the GLAD technique is capable of depositing ultrathin isolated Teflon nanostructures on selective regions of nanorod arrays due to the shadowing effect during obliquely incident deposition. Contact angle measurements on nanocomposite Pt nanorods with Teflon nanopatches exhibited contact angle values as high as 138 degrees, indicating a significant increase in the hydrophobicity of originally hydrophilic Pt nanostructures that had an angle of about 52 degrees. The enhanced hydrophobicity of the Pt nanorod/Teflon nanopatch composite is attributed to the presence of nanostructured Teflon coating, which imparted a low surface energy. Surface energy calculations were performed on Pt nanorods, Teflon thin film, and Pt/Teflon composite using the two-liquid method to confirm the contact angle measurements. Furthermore, a new contact angle model utilizing Cassie and Baxter theory for heterogeneous surfaces was developed in order to explain the enhanced hydrophobicity of Pt/Teflon nanorods. According to our model, it is predicted that the solid-liquid interface is mainly at the Teflon tips when the composite nanorods are in contact with water.