Speaker
Description
Despite many advantages of the superhydrophobic surface, its real-world application has a huge challenge because the surface is susceptible to physical damage and other types of fluid contamination, such as oil and blood, causing a permanent loss of superhydrophobicity. Various strategies have been suggested to address the problem. However, most of the studies mainly focus on a wear-resistant superhydrophobic surface. Here, we introduce highly robust and damage/contamination-recoverable superhydrophobic surfaces consisting of superhydrophobic nanoparticles (SH NPs) and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). To produce a superhydrophobic surface, SH NPs synthesised through covalent bonding of titanium dioxide nanoparticles and perfluorinated silane molecules were mixed with UHMWPE powder, thermally compressed at 150-degree celsius for 45 min, and the surface roughness of produced samples was controlled using sandpaper. The addition of SH NPs into UHMWPE transformed the surface wettability from the Wenzel to Cassie-Baxter state. The superhydrophobicity of the surfaces was tolerated to >80 cycles of sand dropping, sandpaper abrasion and adhesive tape peeling, and even >1000 times scalpel scratches. The surfaces’ mechanical strength was stronger than gypsum, grey Portland cement, low-weight cement, and high-strength cement. Even when the surfaces were damaged and contaminated, superhydrophobicity readily recovered through a sandpaper abrasion. This strategy for producing a robust superhydrophobic surface recoverable from damage and contamination could help move the superhydrophobic surface to real-world applications.
References
- X. Tian, T. Verho, R. H. Ras, Moving superhydrophobic surfaces toward real-world applications, Science 2016, 352, 142.
- M. Liu, S. Wang, L. Jiang, Nature-inspired superwettability systems, Nat. Rev. Mater. 2017, 2, 17036.
| Keywords | Superhydrophobic surface; robustness; recovery surface; Cassie-Baxter model; Wenzel model; roughness; nanoparticles |
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