Superhydrophobic adhesive surface on titanate nanotube brushes through surface modification by capric acid

A superhydrophobic adhesive surface is applied to titanate nanotube (TNT) brushes through surface modification using capric acid. Hydroxyl groups on the TNT brushes are reacted with carboxylic acids via esterification using a chemical vapor deposition method at 110 °C. The alignment of the titanate nanostructures and the surface modification with capric acid resulted in a hydrophobic surface. The hydrophobicity increases with surface modification time; the contact angle, θ _CA, increases from 0° to 152°. After 4 h modification, the surface shows superhydrophobicity with water adhesion ability. The use of carboxylic acids as modifiers offers advantages that include low cost, environmental compatibility, and non-toxicity and is capable of adapting TNT-based functional interfaces toward a variety of applications.