Fabrication of superhydrophobic spherical-like α-FeOOH films on the wood surface by a hydrothermal method

The superhydrophobic spherical-like α-FeOOH films on the wood surface was obtained from ferric sulfate and urea by a hydrothermal reaction process followed by a self-assembly of Octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) monolayer. The microstructure, chemical state and composition of the products were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Energy disperse X-ray analysis (EDX). The hydrophobic property of the treated samples was described by static water contact angles (CAs) and sliding water contact angles (SA) measurement. The stability under ambient condition and durability for corrosive liquid of the surperhydrophobic samples were also investigated in this paper. An analytical characterization revealed that the spherical-like α-FeOOH films with micro–nano structure uniformly deposited on the wood surface and OTS molecules combined with α-FeOOH films. The water contact angle of the as-prepared samples reached as high as 158° and the sliding angle was about 4°. The prepared superhydrophobic wood surface still maintained the superhydrophobic property when stored under ambient condition for 3 months or immersed in a sodium hydroxide solution of pH 12 and a hydrochloric acid solution of pH 2 for 2 h at room temperature.