Candle Soot-Based Electrosprayed Superhydrophobic Coatings for Self-Cleaning, Anti-Corrosion and Oil/Water Separation

Abstract

The interest in candle soot (CS)-based superhydrophobic coatings has grown rapidly in recent years. Here, a simple and low-cost process has been developed for the fabrication of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings through electrospraying of the composite cocktail solution of CS and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Results show that the superhydrophobicity of the coating closely relates to the loading amount of CS which results in coatings with different roughnesses. Specifically, increasing the CS amount (not more than 0.4 g) normally enhances the superhydrophobicity of the coating due to higher roughness being presented in the produced microspheres. Further experiments demonstrate that the superhydrophobicity induced in the electrosprayed coating results from the synergistic effect of the cocktail solution and electrospray process, indicating the importance of the coating technique and the solution used. Versatile applications of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings including self-cleaning, anti-corrosion and oil/water separation are demonstrated. The present work provides a convenient method for the fabrication of CS-based superhydrophobic coatings, which is believed to gain great interest in the future.

Fabrication of Nanostructured Corrosion-Resistant Superhydrophobic Coating on Copper by Electrodeposition: A Comprehensive Critical Review

“…13). 87,[103][104][105][106][107][108][109] Self-cleaning coatings.-The surface layer has a low surface energy and a greater contact angle. ; these two properties of the superhydrophobic coating can be utilized to fabricate anti-cleansing coatings.…”

Advanced Self-Cleaning Surfaces

“…Candle soot and polyvinylidene fluoride composites deposited on paper or on aluminium substrates were also evaluated; the materials were considered suitable for such an application due to their superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity, and their good behaviour was confirmed in tests performed on meshes for both heavy and light oil separation. Such surfaces also proved efficient in protecting stainless steel from concentrated HCl [7]. The specular concept, i.e., developing a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic surface, was applied to obtain oil-water separation with a carbon cloth membrane coated with Cu-doped TiO 2 and Ag nanoparticles [8].…”