Kim Taegyun, Song Man Gyu, Kim Kanghyun, Jeon Hyungkook, Kim Geon Hwee
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chungbuk National University (CBNU), 1 Chungdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju-si 28644, Republic of Korea.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Chungbuk National University (CBNU), 1 Chungdae-ro, Seowon-gu, Cheongju-si 28644, Republic of Korea.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Sep 18;15(18):3810. doi: 10.3390/polym15183810.
Superhydrophobic surfaces, i.e., surfaces with a water contact angle (WCA) ≥ 150°, have gained much attention as they are multifunctional surfaces with features such as self-cleaning, which can be useful in various applications such as those requiring waterproof and/or protective films. In this study, we prepared a solution from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and fabricated a superhydrophobic surface using electrospinning and electrospraying processes. We observed that the fabricated geometry varies depending on the solution conditions, and based on this, we fabricated a hierarchical structure. From the results, the optimized structure exhibited a very high WCA (>156.6°). Additionally, our investigation into the self-cleaning functionality and solar panel efficiency of the fabricated surface revealed promising prospects for the production of superhydrophobic surfaces utilizing recycled PET, with potential applications as protective films for solar panels. Consequently, this research contributes significantly to the advancement of environmentally friendly processes and the progress of recycling technology.
超疏水表面，即水接触角（WCA）≥150°的表面，因其具有自清洁等多功能特性而备受关注，这些特性在诸如需要防水和/或保护膜的各种应用中可能会很有用。在本研究中，我们用回收的聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）制备了一种溶液，并通过静电纺丝和电喷雾工艺制造了超疏水表面。我们观察到，制造出的几何形状因溶液条件而异，并在此基础上制造出了一种分级结构。结果表明，优化后的结构具有非常高的水接触角（>156.6°）。此外，我们对制造表面的自清洁功能和太阳能电池板效率的研究表明，利用回收PET生产超疏水表面具有广阔前景，有望用作太阳能电池板的保护膜。因此，本研究对推进环保工艺和回收技术的进步做出了重大贡献。
