Superhydrophobic Nanocomposite Coatings of Hydrophobic Silica NPs and Poly(methyl methacrylate) with Notable Self‐Cleaning Ability

• Published in: Macromolecular symposia. Vol. 393; no. 1
• Main Authors: Sutar, Rajaram S., Gaikwad, Sima S., Latthe, Sanjay S., Kodag, Vishnu S., Deshmukh, S. B., Saptal, L. P., Kulal, S. R., Bhosale, Appasaheb K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Abrasion; Adhesion tests; Cleaning; Coatings; Contact angle; Glass substrates; Hydraulic jets; Hydrophobic surfaces; Hydrophobicity; Immersion coating; lotus leaf; Morphology; nanocomposite; Nanocomposites; Nanoparticles; Optimization; Polymethyl methacrylate; Polymethylmethacrylate; Sandpaper; self‐cleaning; Silica; Silicon dioxide; Sol-gel processes; Stability; Structural hierarchy; superhydrophobic; Wetting
• ISSN: 1022-1360; 1521-3900
• DOI: 10.1002/masy.202000116

The present paper describes a facile and inexpensive dip coating method for preparation of hierarchical superhydrophobic nanocomposite coating. The hydrophobic silica nanoparticles (NPs) are synthesized via sol–gel technique. The superhydrophobicity of the coating is controlled by adjusting the concentration of silica NPs in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). After optimization, the coating exhibited water contact angle of 165° and sliding angle of 4°. The surface morphology of the superhydrophobic coatings revealed hierarchical rough structure formed on the glass substrate, which enable air trapping. The prepared superhydrophobic coating showed wetting stability under water jet impact with notable self‐cleaning performance. The mechanical stability of the superhydrophobic coating is studied using sandpaper abrasion and adhesive tape peeling test. Such highly non‐wettable and self‐cleaning coatings have potential in various practical applications.