Huang Jinbao, Yang Marshall, Zhang Hui, Zhu Jesse
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 5B9, Canada.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2021 Jan 13;13(1):1323-1332. doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c16582. Epub 2020 Dec 31.
Superhydrophobicity originating from the "lotus effect" enables novel applications such as self-cleaning, anti-fouling, anti-icing, anti-corrosion, and oil-water separation. However, their real-world applications are hindered by some main shortcomings, especially the organic solvent problem, complex chemical modification of nanoparticles, and poor mechanical stability of obtained surfaces. Here, we report for the first time the solvent-free, chemical modification-free, and mechanically, chemically, and UV robust superhydrophobic powder coatings. The coatings were fabricated by adding commercially available polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles into powder coatings and by following the regular powder-coating processing route. The formation of such superhydrophobic surfaces was attributed to PTFE particles, which hindered the microscale leveling of powder coatings during curing. Through adjusting the dosage of PTFE, the hydrophobicity of obtained coatings can be tuned in a large range (water contact angle from 92 to 162°). The superhydrophobic coatings exhibited remarkable mechanical robustness against abrasion because of the unique hierarchical micro/nanoscale roughness and low surface energy throughout the coating and the solid lubrication effect of PTFE particles. The coatings also have robustness against chemical corrosion and UV irradiation owing to high bonding energy and chemical inertness of PTFE. Moreover, the coatings show attractive performances including self-cleaning, anti-rain, anti-snow, and anti-icing. With these multifaceted features, such superhydrophobic coatings are promising for outdoor applications. This study also contributes to the preparation of robust superhydrophobic surfaces in an environmentally friendly way.
源于“荷叶效应”的超疏水性实现了自清洁、防污、防冰、防腐和油水分离等新应用。然而，它们在实际应用中受到一些主要缺点的阻碍，特别是有机溶剂问题、纳米颗粒复杂的化学改性以及所得表面较差的机械稳定性。在此，我们首次报道了无溶剂、无化学改性且在机械、化学和紫外线方面均具有耐久性的超疏水粉末涂料。这些涂料是通过将市售聚四氟乙烯（PTFE）颗粒添加到粉末涂料中，并遵循常规粉末涂料加工路线制备而成。这种超疏水表面的形成归因于PTFE颗粒，其在固化过程中阻碍了粉末涂料的微观平整。通过调整PTFE的用量，可以在很大范围内调节所得涂料的疏水性（水接触角从92°到162°）。由于整个涂层独特的分级微/纳米粗糙度、低表面能以及PTFE颗粒的固体润滑作用，超疏水涂层表现出显著的抗磨损机械耐久性。由于PTFE的高结合能和化学惰性，这些涂层还具有抗化学腐蚀和抗紫外线辐射的耐久性。此外，这些涂层还具有自清洁、防雨、防雪和防冰等吸引人的性能。凭借这些多方面的特性，这种超疏水涂层在户外应用中具有广阔前景。本研究也为以环境友好方式制备耐久性超疏水表面做出了贡献。
