skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Role of surface oxygen-to-metal ratio on the wettability of rare-earth oxides

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4907756· OSTI ID:1483685
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [1]
  1. Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States)
  2. Univ. of Toronto, Toronto, ON (Canada)

Hydrophobic surfaces that are robust can have widespread applications in drop-wise condensation, anti-corrosion, and anti-icing. Recently, it was shown that the class of ceramics comprising the lanthanide series rare-earth oxides (REOs) is intrinsically hydrophobic. The unique electronic structure of the rare-earth metal atom inhibits hydrogen bonding with interfacial water molecules resulting in a hydrophobic hydration structure where the surface oxygen atoms are the only hydrogen bonding sites. Hence, the presence of excess surface oxygen can lead to increased hydrogen bonding and thereby reduce hydrophobicity of REOs. Herein, we demonstrate how surface stoichiometry and surface relaxations can impact wetting properties of REOs. Using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and wetting measurements, we show that freshly sputtered ceria is hydrophilic due to excess surface oxygen (shown to have an O/Ce ratio of 3 and a water contact angle of ~15°), which when relaxed in a clean, ultra-high vacuum environment isolated from airborne contaminants reaches close to stoichiometric O/Ce ratio (~2.2) and becomes hydrophobic (contact angle of ~104°). Further, we show that airborne hydrocarbon contaminants do not exclusively impact the wetting properties of REOs, and that relaxed REOs are intrinsically hydrophobic. In conclusion, this study provides insight into the role of surface relaxation on the wettability of REOs.

Research Organization:
Northwest Energy Innovations, Portland, OR (United States); Hydro Research Foundation, Evergreen, MA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Water Power Technologies Office
Grant/Contract Number:
EE0006056
OSTI ID:
1483685
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 6; ISSN 0003-6951
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 92 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (59)

Electrowetting-Based Control of Static Droplet States on Rough Surfaces journal April 2007
Corrosion Resistance and Durability of Superhydrophobic Surface Formed on Magnesium Alloy Coated with Nanostructured Cerium Oxide Film and Fluoroalkylsilane Molecules in Corrosive NaCl Aqueous Solution journal April 2011
Supernucleating surfaces for nucleate boiling and dropwise condensation heat transfer journal January 2010
Intrinsically robust hydrophobicity journal March 2013
Stable Dropwise Condensation for Enhancing Heat Transfer via the Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD) of Grafted Polymer Films journal September 2013
Contact time of a bouncing drop journal June 2002
Hybrid Surface Design for Robust Superhydrophobicity journal June 2012
Visualization of droplet departure on a superhydrophobic surface and implications to heat transfer enhancement during dropwise condensation journal July 2010
Metallic surfaces with special wettability journal January 2011
Relationships between Water Wettability and Ice Adhesion journal October 2010
The formation of hydrophobic and corrosion resistant surfaces on copper and bronze by treatment in myristic acid journal January 2010
Ce 3d XPS investigation of cerium oxides and mixed cerium oxide (CexTiyOz) journal January 2008
Design and Creation of Superwetting/Antiwetting Surfaces journal December 2006
Capillarity and Wetting Phenomena: Drops, Bubbles, Pearls, Waves book January 2004
Terminal velocity and drag reduction measurements on superhydrophobic spheres journal February 2009
Cerium oxidation state in ceria nanoparticles studied with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and absorption near edge spectroscopy journal August 2004
Evaporation Kinetics of Sessile Water Droplets on Micropillared Superhydrophobic Surfaces journal May 2013
On the Nanoengineering of Superhydrophobic and Impalement Resistant Surface Textures below the Freezing Temperature journal December 2013
Electrodeposition of sol–gel films on Al for corrosion protection journal December 2003
A smooth future? journal May 2011
Rational nanostructuring of surfaces for extraordinary icephobicity journal January 2014
Bio-Inspired Strategies for Anti-Icing journal March 2014
Highly efficient solid state catalysis by reconstructed (001) Ceria surface journal April 2014
On the curve-fitting of XPS Ce(3d) spectra of cerium oxides journal February 2011
Non-sticking drops journal September 2005
Slippage of Water Past Superhydrophobic Carbon Nanotube Forests in Microchannels journal October 2006
Candle Soot as a Template for a Transparent Robust Superamphiphobic Coating journal December 2011
Trapping of drops by wetting defects journal April 2014
Using Amphiphilic Nanostructures To Enable Long-Range Ensemble Coalescence and Surface Rejuvenation in Dropwise Condensation journal March 2012
Wettability-independent bouncing on flat surfaces mediated by thin air films journal November 2014
Zwitter-Wettability and Antifogging Coatings with Frost-Resisting Capabilities journal February 2013
Biomimetics inspired surfaces for drag reduction and oleophobicity/philicity journal January 2011
Effect of Surface Polarity on Water Contact Angle and Interfacial Hydration Structure journal August 2007
Hydrophobicity of Thin Films of Compounds of Low-Electronegativity Metals journal August 2014
Wetting and Roughness journal August 2008
Microcones and Nanograss: Toward Mechanically Robust Superhydrophobic Surfaces journal April 2014
Formation of a porous cerium oxide membrane by anodization journal January 2011
Enhancing Dropwise Condensation through Bioinspired Wettability Patterning journal October 2014
CHEMISTRY: A Curious Antipathy for Water journal December 2008
The SMSI between supported platinum and CeO2–ZrO2–La2O3 mixed oxides in oxidative atmosphere journal August 2007
Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Hierarchical Structure through a Solution-Immersion Process on Copper and Galvanized Iron Substrates journal October 2008
Superhydrophobic surfaces by laser ablation of rare-earth oxide ceramics journal September 2014
Structural Characterization and Catalytic Activity of Nanosized Ceria−Terbia Solid Solutions journal September 2008
Drop impact and wettability: From hydrophilic to superhydrophobic surfaces journal October 2012
Water Drops Dancing on Ice: How Sublimation Leads to Drop Rebound journal July 2013
On the off stoichiometry of cerium oxide thin films deposited by RF sputtering journal April 1996
Hydrophobicity of rare-earth oxide ceramics journal January 2013
Effect of hydrocarbon adsorption on the wettability of rare earth oxide ceramics journal July 2014
XPS Study of the reduction of cerium dioxide journal May 1993
Stabilization of Leidenfrost vapour layer by textured superhydrophobic surfaces journal September 2012
Surface study of cerium oxide based coatings obtained by cathodic electrodeposition on zinc journal May 2011
Reducing the contact time of a bouncing drop journal November 2013
Stability of cerium oxide on silicon studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
  • Preisler, E. J.; Marsh, O. J.; Beach, R. A.
  • Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, Vol. 19, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.1387464
journal January 2001
Drag Reduction using Lubricant-Impregnated Surfaces in Viscous Laminar Flow journal September 2014
Drag reduction for viscous laminar flow on spray-coated non-wetting surfaces journal January 2013
Effect of superhydrophobic surface morphology on evaporative deposition patterns journal May 2014
How superhydrophobicity breaks down journal February 2013
Delayed Frost Growth on Jumping-Drop Superhydrophobic Surfaces journal January 2013
Satellite structure in the X-ray photoelectron spectra of some binary and mixed oxides of lanthanum and cerium journal January 1976

Cited By (15)

Doping Cu Atoms Excel as the Functional Material to Tune the Wettability for TMeNs Hard Coating journal May 2018
Enhancement of ethanol gas sensing mechanism at high humidity levels and optical features using Sr-doped ZnO NPs journal July 2019
Nanoengineered materials for liquid–vapour phase-change heat transfer journal December 2016
Robust Hydrophobic Surfaces from Suspension HVOF Thermal Sprayed Rare-Earth Oxide Ceramics Coatings journal May 2018
Surface chemistry of rare-earth oxide surfaces at ambient conditions: reactions with water and hydrocarbons journal March 2017
The effect of oxygen vacancies on water wettability of transition metal based SrTiO 3 and rare-earth based Lu 2 O 3 journal January 2016
Intrinsic hydrophilic nature of epitaxial thin-film of rare-earth oxide grown by pulsed laser deposition journal January 2018
Crystallographic orientation–surface energy–wetting property relationships of rare earth oxides journal January 2018
Effect of cerium oxide nanoparticles coating on the electrodes of benthic microbial fuel cell journal July 2018
Ethanol gas sensing improvement at high humidity levels and optical features using Ba-doped ZnO NPs journal July 2019
A robust quasi-superhydrophobic ceria coating prepared using air-plasma spraying journal August 2018
Critical role and modification of surface states in hematite films for enhancing oxygen evolution activity journal January 2018
Review of Micro–Nanoscale Surface Coatings Application for Sustaining Dropwise Condensation journal February 2019
Tuning Superhydrophobic Materials with Negative Surface Energy Domains journal November 2019
Surface chemistry of rare-earth oxide surfaces at ambient conditions: Reactions with water and hydrocarbons text January 2017