A superhydrophobic TPU/CNTs@SiO2 coating with excellent mechanical durability and chemical stability for sustainable anti-fouling and anti-corrosion

Abstract

Superhydrophobic materials have attracted widespread attention due to their unique anti-accretion performance to different contaminants. Over the years, numerous superhydrophobic surfaces have been designed and examined. However, most of them still suffer from the weaknesses of fragile mechanical durability and poor chemical stability, which present serious limitations to their practical applications. In this study, we prepared SiO2 particles in-situ grown on the surface of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). The CNTs@SiO2 composite particles were then modified with perfluorodecyltrimethoxysilane and dispersed in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix to obtain a superhydrophobic TPU/CNTs@SiO2 composite coating. Due to the multi-level micro/nanostructures of the CNTs@SiO2 particles and their strong bonding with TPU, the coating has excellent mechanical durability and maintains superhydrophobicity after sandpaper abrasion or tape peeling. In addition, the micro/nanostructures on the coating surface can trap air in the surface pores and thus has prevented the penetration of H+, Na+, Cl-, SO42- and OH− in liquids, leading to excellent chemical stability under extreme solution environment. The coating also has excellent self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties and expected to have great potentials in various industrial fields.