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Durable Superhydrophobic Surfaces Prepared by Spray Coating of Polymerized Organosilane/Attapulgite Nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Li Bucheng,
Zhang Junping,
Wu Lei,
Wang Aiqin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
chempluschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.801
H-Index - 61
ISSN - 2192-6506
DOI - 10.1002/cplu.201300222
Subject(s) - materials science , coating , superhydrophobic coating , contact angle , abrasion (mechanical) , nanocomposite , composite material , polyester , polymerization , chemical engineering , polymer , engineering
Complicated and expensive preparation methods and the low stability of most superhydrophobic surfaces are the bottlenecks that must be faced for their practical application. Herein, a simple and low‐cost approach for preparing durable superhydrophobic surfaces by spray coating of polymerized organosilane/attapulgite (POS/APT) nanocomposites is reported. The POS/APT nanocomposites were prepared by condensation of hexadecyltriethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane in the presence of APT through a modified Stöber method. The morphology and content of clay minerals have great influence on the superhydrophobicity. Only rodlike APT with a weight ratio of APT to organosilanes not less than 0.60 can form the superhydrophobic surfaces. The POS/APT superhydrophobic surfaces feature high water contact angle (CA≈160°), low sliding angle (SA≈2°), excellent stability, and good transparency. A spray coating density as low as 5 g m −2 is enough to obtain the superhydrophobic properties. The cost of such a coating is approximately 4 RMB m −2 . The POS/APT surfaces are stable towards sand abrasion, water pressure, harsh temperature, UV irradiation, and solvent immersion. In addition, a slightly damaged surface can be readily repaired by spray coating again according to the same procedure. Moreover, the durable POS/APT superhydrophobic coatings are applicable to various substrates (e.g., polyurethane plate, paper, and polyester textile) and can be easily scaled up.