Mirror-finished superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces modified by anodic alumina nanofibers and self-assembled monolayers

We demonstrate mirror-finished superhydrophobic aluminum surfaces fabricated via the formation of anodic alumina nanofibers and subsequent modification with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). High-density anodic alumina nanofibers were formed on the aluminum surface via anodizing in a pyrophosphoric acid solution. The alumina nanofibers became tangled and bundled by further anodizing at low temperature because of their own weight, and the aluminum surface was completely covered by the long falling nanofibers. The nanofiber-covered aluminum surface exhibited superhydrophilic behavior, with a contact angle measuring less than 10°. As the nanofiber-covered aluminum surface was modified with n-alkylphosphonic acid SAMs, the water contact angle drastically shifted to superhydrophobicity, measuring more than 150°. The contact angle increased with the applied voltage during pyrophosphoric acid anodizing, the anodizing time, and the number of carbon atoms contained in the SAM molecules modified on the alumina nanofibers. By optimizing the anodizing and SAM-modification conditions, superhydrophobic behavior could be achieved with only a brief pyrophosphoric acid anodizing period of 3 min and subsequent simple immersion in SAM solutions. The superhydrophobic aluminum surface exhibited a high reflectance, measuring approximately 99% across most of the visible spectrum, similar to that of an electropolished aluminum surface. Therefore, our mirror-finished superhydrophobic aluminum surface based on anodic alumina nanofibers and SAMs can be used as a reflective mirror in various optical applications such as concentrated solar power systems.