화학공학소재연구정보센터
Langmuir, Vol.26, No.14, 11628-11630, 2010
Rewritable Superhydrophilic-Superhydrophobic Patterns on a Sintered Titanium Dioxide Substrate
This Letter describes a new fabrication process for superhydrophilic-superhydrophobic patterns on a TiO2 surface using a combination of an inkjet technique and the site-selective decomposition of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) by a photocatalytic reaction under UV irradiation. To induce high surface wettability, we carried out simple calcination of a Ti substrate. The substrate was thus oxidized to titanium oxide and had a vortex-like rough morphology, which was suitable for the formation of wettability patterns. Furthermore, the substrate can be regenerated after elimination of the superhydrophilic-superhydrophobic patterns by the photocatalytic decomposition of TiO2 using UV irradiation, and the patterns are deposited again. The renewed surface that we created had a wettability pattern that was different from the preceding pattern. This process is based on a TiO2 surface and should offer a renewable, resource-saving, and environmentally friendly methodology for the formation of wettability patterns