Environmentally-safe and transparent superhydrophobic coatings. Issue 7 (10th December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mates, J. E.; Ibrahim, R.; Vera, A.; Guggenheim, S.; Qin, J.; Calewarts, D.; Waldroup, D. E.; Megaridis, C. M.
• Is Part Of: Green chemistry. Volume 18:Issue 7(2016)
• Page Start: 2185
• Page End: 2192
• Publication Date: 2015-12-10
• Subjects: Environmental chemistry -- Industrial applications -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; 660
• DOI: 10.1039/c5gc02725j
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1463-9262

Abstract

Abstract : An environmentally-safe, water-borne coating consisting of titania nanoparticles and fluorine-free polyethylene copolymers, forming a transparent, substrate-independent, superhydrophobic water barrier. Abstract : The bioinspired field of superhydrophobicity has almost universally deployed environmentally-detrimental approaches relying on organic solvents and fluorinated compounds to generate liquid-repellent surfaces, thus severely limiting application at industrial scales. Recent water-borne methods have reduced the use of volatile organic compounds, but these methods often rely on either fluorinated chemistries (to lower surface energy) or charge-stabilization (to suspend roughness-enhancing particle fillers). An entirely water-based and fluorine-free superhydrophobic formulation has been developed from hydrophilic titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) nanoparticles and polyolefin copolymers, without additional surfactants or charge-stabilization. The commercially-available ingredients are combined in a single-step, substrate-independent, wet-process application to deliver an ultra-simple, semitransparent coating which is attractive for large-area, fluid-barrier surface treatments. The coating constituents are environmentally-safe and FDA-approved, overcoming a nontrivial hurdle in the scalable development of sustainable fluid management technologies.