Fabrication of bioinspired, self-cleaning, anti-icing, superliquiphilic/phobic titanium using different pathways

Abstract

Titanium is an important material having a high tensile strength-to-density ratio and high corrosion resistance. It has found applications in the aerospace, marine, automotive and biomedical industries. In some of the applications, it is important to have it as a highly liquid repellent, anti-icing and self-cleaning. There have been several attempts to make titanium superliquiphobic. The common pathways include chemical etching and anodizing. However, important characteristics such as self-cleaning, anti-icing and durability have not been investigated. If any durability data were reported, it was poor. In the current study, various superliquiphilic/phobic surfaces were fabricated using three pathways which include chemical etching, anodizing and nanoparticle-binder coating. Each surface was characterized for wettability, self-cleaning, anti-icing, self-cleaning properties and durability. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bioinspired materials and surfaces for green science and technology’.