Effect of Contact Angle on Friction Properties of Superhydrophobic Nickel Surface

Due to their excellent performance, superhydrophobic materials have received a lot of attention and research in friction reduction and wear resistance. However, the effect of different contact angles of superhydrophobicity on friction and wear properties has not been thoroughly studied. In this paper, a nanosecond pulsed laser was used to realize the preparation of a superhydrophobic nickel surface, which indeed reduced the coefficient of friction but also increased the wear volume when compared to the unprocessed surface. As the contact angle of the superhydrophobic nickel surface increased, the coefficient of friction gradually increased, and the wear volume decreased gradually in superhydrophobic nickel surfaces. When the laser energy density was 1 J/cm(2), the contact angle was 150.3 & DEG; and the minimum friction coefficient was 0.4. However, when the laser energy density was 50 J/cm(2), the maximum contact angle was 156.4 & DEG; and the minimum wear volume was 4.23 x 10(7) & mu;m(3). The friction direction also influenced the tribological properties of the superhydrophobic-textured surface. This method makes it possible to process superhydrophobic surfaces with more suitable friction and wear properties.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the effects of different contact angles of superhydrophobicity on friction and wear properties. It is found that as the contact angle of the superhydrophobic nickel surface increases, the coefficient of friction gradually increases while the wear volume decreases. The use of a nanosecond pulsed laser to prepare superhydrophobic surfaces provides a method for achieving surfaces with more suitable friction and wear properties.