PFPE Modified Silicon Nano-Textured Surfaces for Adhesion and Friction Reduction

This paper reports a new technique of producing hydrophobic surfaces with WCA as high as 147°. This technique consists of first generating nano-textures on a silicon surface via aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) and then applying perfluoropolyether (PFPE) on the nano-textured surface (NTS). The resulting PFPE-modified NTS showed significant improvement on both surface hydrophobicity and tribological performances compared to a PFPE-modified smooth silicon surface.