Facile seed-assisted hydrothermal fabrication of γ-AlOOH nanoflake films with superhydrophobicity

A new approach for the fabrication of γ-AlOOH nanoflake films has been developed. The nanoflakes were successfully formed on a glass substrate via a simple, low temperature, and seed-assisted hydrothermal technique. A large amount of γ-AlOOH nanoflakes with various thicknesses interlaced together, resulting in a nest-like layer of film with their sharp edges preferentially vertical to glass substrates. The effects of hydrothermal temperature, time and concentration on the morphology and phase of the γ-AlOOH nanoflake films are investigated. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and Raman microscopy were used to characterize the structures and morphologies of the films. The growth mechanism of the γ-AlOOH nanoflake films was also discussed. Moreover, the nanostructural films of γ-AlOOH showed a transition from hydrophilic to super-hydrophobic with the chemical vapor deposition of PFOS.