Fabrication and characterization of superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic non-crystal titanium oxide film

A non-crystal nanometer titanium oxide film was fabricated on the glass substrate with a method of sol-gel, SEM, XPS, XRD and contact angle meter were employed to characterize its surface morphologies, elements contained, crystal structure and wettability, respectively. The wettability of the film was discussed on the basis of Wenzel’ s and Cassie’ s theory. The results show that the film changes from superhydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity with a static contact angle of 0° after being irradiated under ultraviolet light for about 16 hours. The superhydrophobic properties are caused by the cooperation effect of appropriate surface roughness and surface modification of low surface energy material.