Facile transition from hydrophilicity to superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity on aluminum alloy surface by simple acid etching and polymer coating

The transition from the hydrophilic surface to the superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surface on aluminum alloy via hydrochloric acid etching and polymer coating was investigated by contact angle (CA) measurements and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effects of etching and polymer coating on the surface were discussed. The results showed that a superhydrophilic surface was facilely obtained after acid etching for 20 min and a superhydrophobic surface was readily fabricated by polypropylene (PP) coating after acid etching. When the etching time was 30 min, the CA was up to 157̊. By contrast, two other polymers of polystyrene (PS) and polypropylene grafting maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) were used to coat the aluminum alloy surface after acid etching. The results showed that the CA was up to 159̊ by coating PP-g-MAH, while the CA was only 141̊ by coating PS. By modifying the surface with the silane coupling agent before PP coating, the durability and solvent resistance performance of the superhydrophobic surface was further improved. The micro–nano concave–convex structures of the superhydrophilic surface and the superhydrophobic surface were further confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Combined with the natural hydrophilicity of aluminum alloy, the rough micro–nano structures of the surface led to the superhydrophilicity of the aluminum alloy surface, while the rough surface structures led to the superhydrophobicity of the aluminum alloy surface by combination with the material of PP with the low surface free energy.