Mechanically durable superhydrophobic surfaces prepared by abrading

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces with both excellent mechanical durability and easy reparability based on polytetrafluoroethylene/room temperature vulcanized silicone rubber (PTFE/RTVSR) composites were prepared by a simple abrading method. The surface energy of RTVSR matrix decreased with the increasing volume fraction of PTFE particles, and the surface rough microstructures of the composites were created by abrading. A water droplet on the surface exhibited a contact angle of about 165° ± 3.4° and a sliding angle of about 7.3° ± 1.9°. Such superhydrophobic surfaces showed strong mechanical durability against sandpaper because the surfaces were prepared in the way of mechanical abrasion, and the fresh exposed surfaces were still superhydrophobic. In addition, the micro-structures on the elastic surface of the composite will be compressed by elastic deformation to avoid being broken during the friction cycles when cotton fabric was used as an abrasion surface. The deformation will rebound to renew the original surface structures when the load is withdrawn. Therefore, the elastic PTFE/RTVSR composites are of advantage to construct superhydrophobic surfaces with better abrasion resistance. More importantly, such superhydrophobicity can be repaired by a simple abrading regeneration process within a few minutes when the surface is damaged or polluted by organic contaminant.