Development of Silica Nanoparticles Based Nontoxic, Transparent SUPER Hydrophobic Coatings

Abstract

Research work on the advancement of super hydrophobic surfaces exhibits promising applications. Among them, one of the major applications is to make the surfaces more corrosion-resistant in order to enhance the long-term chemical and mechanical stability and durability of the surface. Current research work is focused on the development of transparent, corrosion resistant and modified Super Hydrophobic Coatings. The coated samples were prepared and the contact angles of water droplets on the surface were measured to check their wettability. Moreover, the self-cleaning properties of these super hydrophobic surfaces fabricated by various methods and their chemical and mechanical stability was investigated. Transparent Superhydrophobic coatings were developed by using Silica Nanoparticles and Polyvinyl alcohol(Polymer). Silica Nanoparticles were first synthesized by Stober process and then were functionalized to create surface roughness on them by using a coupling agent "Trichloro(methyl)silane". The modified Silica Nanoparticles were then associated with a mixture of PVA and MEK (methyl-ethyl ketone). Durability and hydrophobicity of the developed coatings on different surfaces were examined. The mean contact angle between the coated surface and water droplets was measured to be more than 170o. Samples that were associated with PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) shows the best results for super hydrophobicity and durability of the coating. The potential of the functionalization sparks the idea of possible functionalization of silica nanoparticles using other polymers. Keyword : Hydrophobic, Self-cleaning, Wettability, Transparent, Contact Angle, SiNPs, Silica Nanopartciles Figure 1