materials-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Advances in the Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Polymeric Surfaces

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Thin Films and Interfaces".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 July 2023) | Viewed by 6402

Special Issue Editor

Department of Applied Sciences, Universite du Quebec a Chicoutimi, Chicoutimi, QC, Canada
Interests: superhydrophobicity; water repellency; icephobicity; coating; polymers; biomimetics; micro-nanostructured surfaces; wetting and de-wetting; nanocomposites; polymer processing; chemical modification; smart materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As the number of studies related to the superhydrophobic surfaces is rapidly growing around the world, this Special Issue of Materials is to highlight the approaches that target the applications of such surfaces. 

It is a well-established fact that for a material to possess superhydrophobic properties, it must have non-polar groups on its surface satisfying the chemical aspect as well as surface roughness in terms of physical effect of the surface. Therefore, superhydrophobic surfaces can be achieved by the appropriate choice of materials and surface roughness. Consequently, various methods are developed to create superhydrophobic surfaces.

Polymer materials have significantly lower surface free energy than the metallic materials. Moreover, they demonstrate excellent workability, temperature resistance, and high modulus of elasticity. Consequently, fabricating superhydrophobic polymeric surfaces has drawn the attention of many researchers. Superhydrophobic polymeric surfaces can be potentially used for a wide range of applications including, but not limited to, gene delivery, self-cleaning, fluidic drag reduction, wetting liquid transfer, non-micro fluidic channels, lab-on-a-chip devices, anti-icing, anti-bio-adhesion, and plastic containers that can be drained completely of liquid. Regarding the increased importance of the potential applications of superhydrophobic polymeric surfaces, this Special Issue is dedicated to the advances in fabrication of such surfaces.

This Special Issue covers all fabrication methods of superhydrophobic polymeric surfaces including, but not limited to, polymer molding processes such as injection molding and hot embossing, 3-D printing, plasma surface treatment, spray coating, electrospinning, spin coating, self-assembled monolayer (SAM) coating, lithography, and so on.      

It is our pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript including full papers, review papers, and short communications for this Special Issue of Materials. We are confident that with your precious contribution, this Special Issue can address a variety of new applications of superhydrophobic polymeric surfaces.

Prof. Reza Jafari
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • superhydrophobicity
  • micro-nanostructures
  • anti-icing
  • self-cleaning
  • self-healing
  • micro-nanostructured surfaces

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

11 pages, 4938 KiB  
Article
Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Droplet Energy Harvesting Based on Hydrophobic Composites
by Yang Zheng, Jingjing Li, Tiantian Xu, Hongzhi Cui and Xiaoyi Li
Materials 2023, 16(15), 5439; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16155439 - 03 Aug 2023
Viewed by 1036
Abstract
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) have shown great potential in harvesting energy from water. For the TENG that harvests water energy, surface hydrophobicity is crucial for its performance. In this paper, we prepare a hydrophobic composite film of Polyvinylidene Fluoride/Polydimethylsiloxane/Polytetrafluoroethylene (PVDF/PDMS/PTFE) and an electrode of [...] Read more.
Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) have shown great potential in harvesting energy from water. For the TENG that harvests water energy, surface hydrophobicity is crucial for its performance. In this paper, we prepare a hydrophobic composite film of Polyvinylidene Fluoride/Polydimethylsiloxane/Polytetrafluoroethylene (PVDF/PDMS/PTFE) and an electrode of Polyaniline/Carbon nanotubes/Silver nanowires (PANI/CNTs/AgNWs) by electrospinning technology and a doping method, respectively, which are served as the friction layer and top electrode of TENG. The contact angle of the hydrophobic film and electrode both reach over 120°, which makes the separation process between water and the interface complete and promotes the output of TENG. The open-circuit voltage (Voc) and short-circuit current (Isc) can reach 150 V and 60 μA approximately. In addition, the composite electrode can be applied in the preparation of complex electrode shapes. Furthermore, the different reactions of TENG to different liquids indicate that it may contribute to liquid-type sensing systems. This work presents an efficient approach to fabricating hydrophobic films and electrodes, laying a foundation for the development of TENG for harvesting water energy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Polymeric Surfaces)
Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 4035 KiB  
Article
Superhydrophobic Coating Based on Porous Aluminum Oxide Modified by Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)
by Klaudia Olkowicz, Zofia Buczko, Barbara Nasiłowska, Kamil Kowalczyk and Joanna Czwartos
Materials 2022, 15(3), 1042; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15031042 - 28 Jan 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3063
Abstract
The aim of this study was to obtain a superhydrophobic coating by modifying anodized aluminum using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In order to obtain a superhydrophobic coating on an aluminum substrate, a multistage treatment was implemented. Specimens of aluminum were treated by abrasive blasting, anodization [...] Read more.
The aim of this study was to obtain a superhydrophobic coating by modifying anodized aluminum using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In order to obtain a superhydrophobic coating on an aluminum substrate, a multistage treatment was implemented. Specimens of aluminum were treated by abrasive blasting, anodization in sulfuric acid, impregnation by PDMS, rinsing in toluene to remove excess of PDMS, and curing. A rough surface with an additional low free energy layer on it resulted in a superhydrophobic effect. The coating obtained has an average contact angle of 159°. The specimens were tested in terms of durability in natural conditions. Additionally, anti-icing and anti-fouling properties were evaluated. The coating was compared with anodized aluminum obtained by a basic process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Polymeric Surfaces)
Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 4339 KiB  
Article
Effect of Chemical Surface Texturing on the Superhydrophobic Behavior of Micro–Nano-Roughened AA6082 Surfaces
by Amani Khaskhoussi, Luigi Calabrese, Salvatore Patané and Edoardo Proverbio
Materials 2021, 14(23), 7161; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14237161 - 24 Nov 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1647
Abstract
Superhydrophobic surfaces on 6082 aluminum alloy substrates are tailored by low-cost chemical surface treatments coupled to a fluorine-free alkyl-silane coating deposition. In particular, three different surface treatments are investigated: boiling water, HF/HCl, and HNO3/HCl etching. The results show that the micro-nano [...] Read more.
Superhydrophobic surfaces on 6082 aluminum alloy substrates are tailored by low-cost chemical surface treatments coupled to a fluorine-free alkyl-silane coating deposition. In particular, three different surface treatments are investigated: boiling water, HF/HCl, and HNO3/HCl etching. The results show that the micro-nano structure and the wetting behavior are greatly influenced by the applied surface texturing treatment. After silanization, all the textured surfaces exhibit a superhydrophobic behavior. The highest water contact angle (WCA, ≈180°) is obtained by HF/HCl etching. Interestingly, the water sliding angle (WSA) is affected by the anisotropic surface characteristics. Indeed, for the HF/HCl and the HNO3/HCl samples, the WSA in the longitudinal direction is lower than the transversal one, which slightly affects the self-cleaning capacity. The results point out that the superhydrophobic behavior of the aluminum alloys surface can be easily tailored by performing a two-step procedure: (i) roughening treatment and (ii) surface chemical silanization. Considering these promising results, the aim of further studies will be to improve the knowledge and optimize the process parameters in order to tailor a superhydrophobic surface with an effective performance in terms of stability and durability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in the Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Polymeric Surfaces)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop