UV-induced wettability change of teflon-modified ZnO nanorod arrays on LiNbO3 substrate

Aligned ZnO nanorod arrays films were grown on LiNbO3 substrates by aqueous growth, and subsequently rendered superhydrophobic with RF sputtered coated Teflon. The as-prepared surface exhibits superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle (CA) of 154.5deg. After 2 hours of UV irradiation on the surface, the surface wettability was approaching hydrophilic state; CA was measured to be 113deg. This study provides insights into the methodology of a low cost, efficient technique that has great potential for preparing nanostructured surface with tunable wettability.