Fabrication and tribological behavior of superhydrophobic zinc surface based on oleic acid

A zinc substrate was firstly immersed in an aqueous solution of N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution and then chemically modified with oleic acid to generate a superhydrophobic surface. The morphological features, chemical composition and superhydrophobicity of the resultant superhydrophobic surface were analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared microscopy and water contact angle (WCA) measurements, respectively, and the tribological behavior of films was evaluated by sliding the superhydrophobic films against a steel ball under 0.5 N normal load using a reciprocating ball-on-plate tribo-tester. It was found that the as-obtained superhydrophobic surface on the roughened (oxidized) zinc substrate had a WCA as high as 155°, and effectively reduced friction and largely increased antiwear life, due to the combined beneficial effects of nanotexturing of DMF treatment and nanolubrication of self-assembled oleic acid overcoat.