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Download fileUltra-Durable and Transparent Self-Cleaning Surfaces by Large-Scale Self-Assembly of Hierarchical Interpenetrated Polymer Networks
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posted on 20.05.2016, 13:19 by William S. Y. Wong, Zbigniew H. Stachurski, David R. Nisbet, Antonio TricoliIn nature, durable
self-cleaning surfaces such as the Lotus leaf rely on the multiscale
architecture and cohesive regenerative properties of organic tissue.
Real-world impact of synthetic replicas has been limited by the poor
mechanical and chemical stability of the ultrafine hierarchical textures
required for attaining a highly dewetting superhydrophobic state.
Here, we present the low-cost synthesis of large-scale ultradurable
superhydrophobic coatings by rapid template-free micronano texturing
of interpenetrated polymer networks (IPNs). A highly transparent texture
of soft yielding marshmallow-like pillars with an ultralow surface
energy is obtained by sequential spraying of a novel polyurethane-acrylic
colloidal suspension and a superhydrophobic nanoparticle solution.
The resulting coatings demonstrate outstanding antiabrasion resistance,
maintaining superhydrophobic water contact angles and a pristine lotus
effect with sliding angles of below 10° for up to 120 continuous
abrasion cycles. Furthermore, they also have excellent chemical- and
photostability, preserving the initial performance upon more than
50 h exposure to intense UVC light (254 nm, 3.3 mW cm–2), 24 h of oil contamination, and highly acidic conditions (1 M HCl).
This sprayable polyurethane-acrylic colloidal suspension and surface
texture provide a rapid and low-cost approach for the substrate-independent
fabrication of ultradurable transparent self-cleaning surfaces with
superior abrasion, chemical, and UV-resistance.
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Keywords
abrasion cyclesoil contaminationsuspensionchemical stabilityultradurable superhydrophobic coatingssuperhydrophobic nanoparticle solutionIPNantiabrasion resistanceregenerative propertiesHierarchical Interpenetrated Polymer NetworksUVCultralow surface energysequential sprayingmultiscale architecturedewetting superhydrophobic stateinterpenetrated polymer networks50 h exposuresuperhydrophobic water contact anglessurface textureLotus leaflotus effect