Preparation and properties of polytetrafluoroethylene superhydrophobic surface

Abstract

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), as a typical hydrophobic material, has a very wide range of applications in various industries. However, the surface contact angle cannot reach the superhydrophobic effect, increasing cleaning costs. Here, we successfully prepared PTFE superhydrophobic surface by ball milling and spraying. The results show that the low surface energy is an important reason why the droplets remain spherical on the surface of the material and do not spread. The micro-nano secondary structure can support the droplets, and the air cushion formed helps the material surface to have a higher contact angle. The surface contact angle of the PTFE plate sprayed with 3% graphene/hydrophobic nano-SiO2 composite powder is 161.05°. After 10 times of tape stripping, the contact area between droplets and air remains above 85.00%. After 10 times of friction and wear, the contact angle remains above 150°. The wettability of the material is not significantly affected due to structural similarity and material consistency. This approach may carve a feasible way for the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces and reduces the cleaning cost of PTFE surfaces.