EFFECT OF OIL FRACTION ON WETTABILITY OF HYDROPHOBIC ALUMINIUM OXIDE NANO-PARTICLE
Abstract
Wettability is an important property of materials that affect their performance in a variety of applications. Aluminum oxide nanoparticles is a common material used in coatings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of oil fraction on the wettability of hydrophobic and hydrophilic aluminum oxide. Nano aluminum oxide suspension was prepared by adding dry nano aluminum oxide in absolute ethanol to form about 3 wt.% dispersion (1g of nano aluminum oxide to 30ml of ethanol). The mixture was vigorously hand-shaken for 2 mins to disperse the suspension. Various fractions of silicon oil were also added and to the dispersion and hand shaken for 2 mins. The dispersion was then dropped on the glass slide and spin coated for 30 s. The resulting coated sample was dried in an oven for 1hour. The wettability of water on the surface was tested using water contact angle measurements. The results reveal that gradual increase in the oil fraction of the dispersion decreases the hydrophobicity of the aluminum nanoparticle coating from super-hydrophobic to hydrophobic surface. Thus, oil could be used to control the wettability of simple coating.
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