On the Significance of Selecting Hydrophobization Conditions for Obtaining Stable Superhydrophobic Coatings

A method has been described for obtaining superhydrophobic coatings on the surfaces of tungsten and D16 aluminum alloy using nanosecond laser treatment followed by chemical deposition of fluorooxysilane from a vaporous phase. It has been shown by the examples of aluminum and tungsten that, in order to obtain chemically stable coatings, it is necessary to select sample preparation conditions for applying the hydrophobizer individually for each material. Varying the time of surface pretreatment with oxygen plasma makes it possible to controllably change the density of surface adsorption sites and control the chemical stability of the hydrophobizer layer and, hence, the coating as a whole. Superhydrophobic coatings with contact angles of larger than 170° have been obtained on the studied metals, with contact angles remaining preserved during a long-term continuous contact with aqueous media.