Superoleophobic Surfaces on Al and Mg Alloy Substrates Through Rapid Surface Micro/Nanometer-Scale Structuring

A facile and highly efficient electroless deposition method to rapidly fabricate superoleophobic surfaces on Al and Mg alloy substrates is described herein. Hierarchical micro/nanometer-scale rough Cu structures required by superoleophobic surfaces were fabricated on Al substrates via immersing Al plates in the mixed solution containing CuSO₄ and NaCl. Hierarchical micro/nanometer-scale rough Ag structures were fabricated on Mg alloy substrates via immersing Mg alloy plates in the aqueous AgNO₃ solution. After perfluorooctanoic acid modification, in-air superoleophobic Al and Mg alloy surfaces were obtained. The contact angles of peanut oil on superoleophobic Al and Mg alloy surfaces are 156.5 ± 2.5° and 150.5 ± 1°, respectively. The sliding angles of peanut oil on the aforementioned two surfaces are 4° and 50°, respectively. The shortest times for the fabrication of superoleophobic Al and Mg alloy surfaces are no more than 60 s and 20 min, respectively. Applications of such surfaces are envisioned in the fields of industrial processing of low-surface tension liquids such as distilling and pipe-line transport of petroleum products or where surfaces are exposed to dirty oil/water environments.