Morphology and Hydrophobicity of Micro/Nanoscaled Cuprous Iodide Crystal

The micro/nanoscaled γ-CuI crystal with various morphologies, such as rose-petal-like nanoflake, prism, triangle, hexagonal pyramid, and polyhedron, was successfully prepared by an in-situ etching process in an ethanol solution. In particular, the morphology and size of the crystals can be controlled by adjusting the reaction conditions. Moreover, it was found that the hydrophobicity of the crystal surface increases with the increase of "roughness" defined by a maximum difference in diameter between the maximum and the minimum diameter of the crystals measured by scanning electron microscopy; in particular, the super-hydrophobic (CA = 151.0°) surface is observed with the coexistence of micro/nanoscaled crystals.