Fabrication of durable polytetrafluoroethylene superhydrophobic materials with recyclable and self-cleaning properties on various substrates

Abstract

Most of the artificial superhydrophobic surfaces easily lose their good water repellency once they are chemically or mechanically damaged, which seriously hinders their practical application. Durable superhydrophobic materials with recyclability, low-temperature resistance, and self-cleaning properties were successfully prepared by employing silica particles and polytetrafluoroethylene via a simple drop-coating method. The as-prepared superhydrophobic materials not only show excellent superhydrophobicity but also display fascinating durability and chemical stability after a series of rigorous tests. Importantly, the debris scraped from the superhydrophobic materials can be recycled and easily reused to prepare new superhydrophobic materials. This facile strategy may pave the way for the scalable and recyclable robust superhydrophobic materials in practical applications.