Abstract
Herein, superhydrophobic and antibacterial polyurethane (PU) nanocomposite films loaded with titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and graphene nanoplatelets were fabricated via a spray coating technique. The nonsolvent-induced phase separation (NIPS) process increased the films' roughness and hydrophobicity. In addition to the effective role of nonsolvent in phase separation, graphene also played the nucleating role and promoted the NIPS process. Based on scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and optical microscopy results, it was found that the combinational use of TiO2, graphene, and nonsolvent leads to a hierarchical structure with a high extent of uniform surface roughness resulting in a superhydrophobic/roll-off behavior (water contact angle = 159°, sliding angle < 5°). The antibacterial activity was profoundly increased to ca. 99% against S. aureus and E. coli bacteria and was attributed to the induced superhydrophobicity and also the surface localization of TiO2 as a biocidal agent. An attempt was also made to present a mechanism for the NIPS process in the presence of TiO2 and graphene nanoparticles.
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