19 - Fluoropolymer nanocomposites for superhydrophobic antireflective and anticorrosive coatings

Abstract

Superhydrophobic antireflective and anticorrosive coatings have essential characteristics, as well as their potential value in solving technical issues. The markable surface texture and chemistry of these coatings restrict wettability making them suitable for anticorrosion applications. Due to their very low surface energies, fluorinated polymers are of great interest for superhydrophobic surfaces. Surface micro/nanotexturing combined with reduced surface energy of materials leads to increased anti-wetting capabilities. Moreover, due to promising applications in superhydrophobic paints, packaging materials, building materials, and so on, functional superhydrophobic coatings (SHCs) have sparked widespread concern. The most important applications of these SHCs are to improve the antireflective properties to eliminate unwanted surface reflections and improve the corrosion resistance in an aggressive environment. Improving the antireflective properties of SHC helps reduce reflectance and enhance light transmittance, thus enabling them to be used in optoelectronic devices. The chapter provides essential information to understand the theories behind SHC and a detailed description of various coating techniques of fluoropolymer nanocomposites based on SHC and their antireflective and anticorrosion mechanisms. This chapter discusses the factors influencing the antireflective and anticorrosive properties of SHC and the impact of fluoropolymer nanocomposites on SHC. It gives a critical discussion of the recent progress toward the development of antireflective and anticorrosive superhydrophobic surfaces and highlights some special features of these coatings. Finally, the chapter addresses the future challenges and other potential applications of superhydrophobic coatings.