Enhanced durability and versatile superhydrophobic coatings via facile one-step spraying technique

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces show significant advantages in interface issues. However, their practical application is limited due to the poor wear resistance and environmental durability. Consequently, the constructed superhydrophobic surfaces are vulnerable to physical actions. In this work, a simple, low-cost and eco-friendly one-step spray-coating method was developed to fabricate the superhydrophobic surfaces using all-in-one suspension. Meanwhile, no potentially toxic reagent (such as fluoroalkylsilane, and so on) was used in the preparation method. Furthermore, an inorganic aluminum phosphate (AP) binder was proposed to enhance the bonding force among SiO2 nanoparticles, superhydrophobic coatings and substrates. As a result, the durability and stability of the superhydrophobic materials was enhanced markedly. The as-prepared superhydrophobic materials not only showed excellent durability and stability when exposure to various harsh environments, such as acid, alkali, salt, organic-solvent immersion and UV irradiation, but also maintained their superhydrophobicity after long distance of mechanical abrasion and multiple tape-peel tests. Besides, the obtained superhydrophobic fabrics exhibited much higher efficiency in oil-water separation than the superhydrophobic fabrics without AP enhancement did. Hence, the developed superhydrophobic materials and fabrication method could find wide application in industrial production and environmental remediation.