Preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces by cauliflower‐like polyaniline

Abstract

Cauliflower‐like polyaniline (PANI) was successfully prepared using an interfacial polymerization method. By modification with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using chemical vapor deposition method, the surface wettability of cauliflower‐like PANI can be tailored to be superhydrophobic with a water contact angle of 160.4°. The deposition of the low‐surface‐energy silicon coating originated from PDMS pyrolysis on the cauliflower‐like PANI was confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The changes in thermal stability and conductivity of the as‐prepared PANI before and after PDMS treatment were also investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and using a four‐probe method. Compared with nanofiber‐shaped PANI by electrodepositing polymerization, the PDMS‐treated cauliflower‐like PANI has superior surface wettability. Our study may open a new way for fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces by developing novel nanostructured PANI. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 39767.

Morphology controlled synthesis of polyaniline nanostructures using swollen liquid crystal templates

“…A number of nano‐ and micro‐scale structures of PANI such as cauliflower, granules, nanofibers, nanotubes, colloidal particles, nanospheres, microspheres, etc. are reported in the literature by following some of these methods . There are relative advantages and disadvantages for each of these methods.…”

Superhydrophobic polyaniline hollow spheres with mesoporous brain-like convex-fold shell textures

“…4 A superhydrophobic surface, inspired by lotus leaves that reaches a water contact angle (WCA) of higher than 150 , can be practically designed by introducing doping agents with extremely low surface energy and fabricating hierarchical nano/microstructures to increase the surface roughness. 5 Until now, various superhydrophobic PANI materials have been reported, including microspheres, 6 nanobers, 7 hollow bars constructed with nanorod arrays, 8 cauliower-like surfaces, 9 star-shaped structures 10 and lotus-leaf-like PANI lms. 11 Recently, the synthesis of nano/micro-scaled PANI hollow spheres has received intensive interest because of their unprecedented physicochemical properties for demanding applications in encapsulation, conned reaction, controlled release and delivery, separation and bio-sensing.…”