Superhydrophobic surfaces with static water contact angles higher or equal to 159º were fabricated using titanium dioxide nanoparticules and trimethoxypropyl silane (TMPSi) in aqueous or non-aqueous solvents. The superhydrophobic surface fabricated in aqueous solvent showed high contact angle hysteresis. On the other hand, the superhydrophobic surface fabricated in non-aqueous solvent showed low contact angle hysteresis and self-cleaning properties. The application of near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy in surface analysis of superhydrophobic surface is demonstrated and justified with the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy by attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR). The present work highlights the importance of chemical heterogeneity of the surface on the final properties of a superhydrophobic surface. The self cleaning superhydrophobic surface is obtained only with a complete coverage of the surface with TMPSi in a non-aqueous solvent. This finding is supported by detailed NEXAFS and FTIR-ATR data.
superhydrophobic; titanium dioxide; NEXAFS; contact angle hysteresis
