A highly stretchable and robust non-fluorinated superhydrophobic surface

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surface simultaneously possessing exceptional stretchability, robustness, and non-fluorination is highly desirable in applications ranging from wearable devices to artificial skins. While conventional superhydrophobic surfaces typically feature stretchability, robustness, or non-fluorination individually, co-existence of all these features still remains a great challenge. Here we report a multi-performance superhydrophobic surface achieved through incorporating hydrophilic micro-sized particles with pre-stretched silicone elastomer. The commercial silicone elastomer (Ecoflex) endowed the resulting surface with high stretchability; the densely packed micro-sized particles in multi-layers contributed to the preservation of the large surface roughness even under large strains; and the physical encapsulation of the microparticles by silicone elastomer due to the capillary dragging effect and the chemical interaction between the hydrophilic silica and the elastomer gave rise to the robust and non-fluorinated superhydrophobicity. It was demonstrated that the as-prepared fluorine-free surface could preserve the superhydrophobicity under repeated stretching-relaxing cycles. Most importantly, the surface’s superhydrophobicity can be well maintained after severe rubbing process, indicating wear-resistance. Our novel superhydrophobic surface integrating multiple key properties, i.e. stretchability, robustness, and non-fluorination, is expected to provide unique advantages for a wide range of applications in biomedicine, energy, and electronics.

Fabrication of super-hydrophobic nickel film on copper substrate with improved corrosion inhibition by electrodeposition process

“…However, PFASs are considered as the global pollutants since they contain numerous manufactured nonbiodegradable compounds. In addition, an increasing body of evidence points to PFASs as environmental threat to kidney function [25][26]. Thus, the surface modification using PFASs is not an eco-friendly approach to produce super-hydrophobic surfaces.…”

Recent Advances in Robust Superwettable Membranes for Oil–Water Separation

“…Recently, although significant advances in robust interfacial material systems exhibiting superwettability have been made, there are still no standard approaches to quantify the durability. Based on previously published references, there are ≈25 common testing methods for characterizing the durability of nonpermeable surfaces or porous membranes, as summarized in Figure , including sand flow impact/abrasion tests (Figure a), water spay/droplet/jet impact tests (Figure b), ultrasonication tests (Figure c), sandpaper abrasion tests (Figure d), tap peeling tests (Figure e), pencil/blade scratch‐based cross‐cut tests (Figure f), bending tests (Figure g), laundering tests (Figure h), stretch tests (Figure i), UV irradiation tests (Figure j), thermal stability tests (Figure k), corrosive solvents tests (Figure l), antibacterial tests (Figure m), antifouling tests (Figure n), liquid flow‐based pressure tests (Figure o), cross flow tests (Figure p), and multicycle/reusable separation tests (Figure q) . Actually, there are some other methods for testing target superwettable materials, such as stress–strain, circular abrasion, pencil hardness, oscillating steel ball/ring, bare finger contact, rotary slurry, and liquid spay/droplet impact tests .…”

“…Although we have discussed the mechanical strength and stiffness of membranes, the stretchability or flexibility against mechanical deformation cannot be ignored in the creation of robust surface superwettability . As an example, a superhydrophobic fibrous PU membrane modified with BPEI/5Acl nanocomplexes (NC) was gradually deformed for 1000 cycles with 150% strain and retained super‐water‐repellency and a contact angle hysteresis of less than 10° .…”

Multifunctional Superwetting Composite Coatings for Long‐Term Anti‐Icing, Air Purification, and Oily Water Separation

“…[ 18–22 ] To address this fatal drawback, most of the attention was focused on the surface abrasion resistance from rigid friction. [ 23–28 ] For instance, repair ability and self‐healing were exploited to overcome the abrasion damage, suitable organic, or inorganic adhesive were introduced to maintain surface structural integrity or to design the texture of damaged surface similar to the undamaged layer. Therefore, from universal application perspective, it is extremely important to develop suitable adhesive for accommodating various substrates at the specific application environment.…”