A Hybrid Superhydrophobic/Hydrophilic Surface Based on SiO2 Nanoparticles over a Clay Substrate for Enhanced Dew Yield Potential

Leonardo A. Beneditt-Jimenez,Alex Elías-Zúñiga,Jackeline Iturbe-Ek,Alan O. Sustaita,Oscar Martínez-Romero,Nicolás Antonio Ulloa-Castillo

doi:10.3390/app12031526

Leonardo A. Beneditt-Jimenez, Alex Elías-Zúñiga + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031526

Copy DOI

Journal: Applied sciences	Publication Date: Jan 31, 2022
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Tecnológico de Monterrey

Abstract

The study of SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) and their corresponding surface modifications through octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) has attracted attention due to their self-cleaning, hydrophobic and superhydrophobic (SHPho) properties, which are desirable for water collection based on the dew condensation effect. Such properties have been addressed by different strategies, of which the development of hybrid superhydrophobic/hydrophilic (SHH) surfaces has shown great promise. In this research, the pairing of OTS-treated and untreated SiO2 NP layers deposited on clay substrates is investigated with the aim of exploring a hybrid SHH surface capable of enhancing dew yield behavior. Infrared analyses were conducted using FTIR to study the interaction between the clay substrate and the OTS-treated and untreated SiO2 NPs. The hybrid SHH surfaces were morphologically characterized, and contact angle (CA) measurements were performed to explore their wettability behavior. The developed hybrid SHH surfaces exhibited hydrophilic (HPhi)/SHPho properties with an improved dew yield performance. The results obtained in this article are of relevance to the development of water-harvesting devices based on hybrid SHH surfaces.

Highlights

The replication and imitation of nature have led to our understanding and development of many technologies
The findings shown in this research demonstrate that the obtained hybrid SHH surface is capable of enhancing dew yield potential for water-harvesting applications
Cluster agglomerations, which may be the result of their entanglement caused by the OTS

Summary

Introduction

The replication and imitation of nature have led to our understanding and development of many technologies. The engineering of surfaces based on certain animals, such as the Namibia scarab beetle, has received growing interest [1,2,3,4,5,6] This small creature manifests a unique, tailor-made shell with hydrophobic and hydrophilic properties that allow it to survive in a harsh, dry and water-scarce environment [1,2]. The biomimicry of this creature and other living things with similar attributes has allowed for the development and engineering of surfaces with dewetting, self-cleaning, water-harvesting and superhydrophobic properties [2,6,7,8,9,10,11]. SiO2 NPs have been demonstrated to possesses excellent adherence to surfaces, such as glass, silane discs, gold (Au), platinum (Pt) and organic substrates (textiles and wood), by being modified or treated with other molecules, such as polyacrylate (PAA), polymethylacrylate (PMA), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) [14,16,23,24,25,27,28]

Methods

Results

Conclusion