One-Step Methods to Fabricate Durable Superhydrophobic Coatings for Flexible Electronic Sensors

Abstract

Inspired by lotus leaves in nature, superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted extensive attention in many fields. However, their complex preparation process, poor durability and high cost seriously restrict their large-scale application in industrial production. Based on the good flexibility and durability of carbon nanofibers, several simple modifier-free one-step approaches were adopted to fabricate a durable CNF/PVDF/PDMS conductive superhydrophobic coating. The fabricated coating not only possesses good superhydrophobicity to many kinds of liquids, but also has excellent self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties. In addition, the superhydrophobicity of the obtained multifunctional coating is stable even after harsh bending fatigue deformation, long immersion times and high-temperature treatment. Due to its strong adhesion and excellent conductivity, the CNF/PVDF/PDMS coating displays reliable mechanical stability and superior sensitivity. These distinct features make the obtained conductive superhydrophobic coating a good candidate for multifunctional smart sensors, with great application prospects in gesture detectors, waterproof wearable electronics and health monitors.

Improving Hydrophilicity and Adhesion of PDMS through Dopamine Modification Assisted by Carbon Dioxide Plasma

“…Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is widely used in various fields such as gecko-like sole adhesive materials, electronic skin, and medical materials, due to its characteristics of easy curing, low young's modulus, good chemical stability, and biocompatibility [1][2][3][4][5].…”

Superhydrophobic Flexible Strain Sensors Constructed Using Nanomaterials: Their Fabrications and Sustainable Applications

“…Numerous methods exist for the preparation of superhydrophobic flexible sensors, including the utilization of nanotechnology to fabricate superhydrophobic materials and subsequently integrating them with a flexible substrate to produce such sensors [41]. In addition, there are other methods such as chemical vapor deposition [42,43], electrochemical deposition [44], and sol-gel methods [45,46] to prepare superhydrophobic materials, which can then be combined with a flexible substrate to produce superhydrophobic flexible sensors. This unique physical property means that superhydrophobic materials have broad application prospects in many fields, including surface self-cleaning [47][48][49][50], oil-water separation [51,52], anti-corrosion [53][54][55], anti-icing [56,57], and other aspects.…”