Preparation of PDMS/EEC/SiO2 composite super-hydrophobic coatings with excellent anti-guano adhesion performance

A low-cost and no-toxicity approach was presented to fabricate super-hydrophobic coatings via depositing hydroxy-terminated poly-dimethylsioxane and 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl-3′, 4′-epoxycyclohexane carboxylate grafted nano-silica particles on substrates. The surface morphology, wettability, and anti-guano adhesion performance of as-prepared coatings were investigated. Results show the micro-nano hierarchical structures were formed on the surface of as-prepared coatings. The coatings exhibit super-hydrophobicity with a water static contact angle of 156° and sliding angle of 3°. Excellent anti-guano adhesion performances are also exhibited by the coatings, and the residue amount of guano captured by the coating only accounts for 0.3% of that captured by glass surface, making the as-prepared coating a promising candidate as an anti-guano strategy for both industry and everyday life (e.g. insulators for overhead power lines, buildings, statues and cars).     

Photo-induced change in wettability and binding ability of azoaromatic polymers

Photochromic polymers containing p-phenylazoacrylanilide were synthesized and the photo-induced hydrophobicity change on the surface of the polymer film was studied by measuring water wettability. The wettability increased with UV irradiation and returned to the original value with visible light irradiation. This photo-induced reversible change in wettability was considered to be caused by the large change of dipole moment across the azo bonds due to the isomerization of azo dye from trans to cis form. Furthermore, the photoresponsive polymeric adsorbent prepared from the azo polymer having adsorption behavior of a low molecular weight compound was studied. The binding ability of this polymeric adsorbent was decreased by UV irradiation. These results were attributed to the decreased hydrophobic interaction between the adsorbent and the adsorbate.     

Facile fabrication of super-hydrophobic nano-needle arrays via breath figures method

ABSTRACT: Super-hydrophobic surfaces which have been fabricated by various methods such as photolithography, chemical treatment, self-assembly, and imprinting have gained enormous attention in recent years. Especially 2D arrays of nano-needles have been shown to have super-hydrophobicity due to their sharp surface roughness. These arrays can be easily generated by removing the top portion of the honeycomb films prepared by the breath figures method. The hydrophilic block of an amphiphilic polymer helps in the fabrication of the nano-needle arrays through the production of well-ordered honeycomb films and good adhesion of the film to a substrate. Anisotropic patterns with water wettability difference can be useful for patterning cells and other materials using their selective growth on the hydrophilic part of the pattern. However, there has not been a simple way to generate patterns with highly different wettability. Mechanical stamping of the nano-needle array with a polyurethane stamp might be the simplest way to fabricate patterns with wettability difference. In this study, super-hydrophobic nano-needle arrays were simply fabricated by removing the top portion of the honeycomb films. The maximum water contact angle obtained with the nano-needle array was 150°. By controlling the pore size and the density of the honeycomb films, the height, width, and density of nano-needle arrays were determined. Anisotropic patterns with different wettability were fabricated by simply pressing the nano-needle array at ambient temperature with polyurethane stamps which were flexible but tough. Mechanical stamping of nano-needle arrays with micron patterns produced hierarchical super-hydrophobic structures.PACS: 05.70.Np, 68.55.am, 68.55.jm.     

Investigations on reducing microbiologically-influenced corrosion of aluminum by using super-hydrophobic surfaces

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, potentiodynamic polarization and scanning electron microscopy were carried out to determine the effect of super-hydrophobic surfaces on the marine bacterium Vibrio natriegens (V. natriegens) adhesion. Four different samples were prepared in order to investigate the anti-biocorrosion mechanism of super-hydrophobic surfaces. Potentiodynamic polarization suggested that the V. natriegens attached on the surface mainly enhanced the reaction kinetics of the anodic reaction and accelerated the dissolution of aluminum. EIS results were interpreted with different equivalent circuits to model the physicoelectric characteristics of the electrode/biofilm/solution interface. The results showed that neither anodization nor chemical modification could decrease the bacterial adhesion and corrosion rate individually. V. natriegens showed only weak attachment to the super-hydrophobic surface, and the biocorrosion mechanism was closely associated with surface energy and surface topography.     

Zwitterionic sulfobetaine‐modified non‐woven fabric for blood filtration

Blood filtration requires a high removal ratio of leukocytes and with simultaneous high recovery ratio of platelets and other beneficial components. Problems are often encountered with blood filter materials in terms of high platelet loss. Zwitterions such as phosphorylcholine, sulfobetaine and carboxybetaine show effective resistance against protein adsorption and platelet adhesion. The study reported was aimed at achieving surface modification of poly(butylene terephthalate) non‐woven fabric (PBTNF) using UV radiation‐induced graft copolymerization of a zwitterionic sulfobetaine, N‐(3‐sulfopropyl)‐N‐methacroyloxyethyl‐N,N‐dimethylammonium betaine (SMDB), in order to improve the wettability and platelet recovery ratio of the PBTNF. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results showed that SMDB was successfully grafted onto the PBTNF. Photoinitiator concentration, monomer concentration and UV irradiation time affected markedly the degree of grafting. Critical wetting surface tension, water wetting time and hemolysis tests showed an improvement in wettability and blood compatibility as a result of graft copolymerization of SMDB. A blood filter material composed of SMDB‐modified PBTNF reduced platelet adhesion and had higher platelet recovery compared to poly(acrylic acid)‐modified PBTNF. It was found that SMDB monomer was successfully grafted onto PBTNF using UV radiation. The degree of grafting of SMDB could be controlled by varying the photoinitiator concentration, monomer concentration and UV irradiation time. SMDB‐modified PBTNF showed significant improvement in wettability and blood compatibility. The zwitterionic structure of SMDB is resistant to platelet adhesion. The SMDB‐modified PBTNF could be a candidate for a blood filter material and in other medical applications. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Surface Modification of Polycarbonate by Ultraviolet Radiation and Ozone

The effect of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the presence of ozone as a surface treatment for polycarbonate is examined in regards to changes in the wettability, adhesion, and surface mechanical properties. Standalone, 175-µm-thick films of a commercially available polycarbonate were exposed to UV radiation from sources of different power with various treatment times in the presence of supplemental ozone. Significant decreases in the water contact angle were observed after exposure to UV radiation in the presence of ozone. After several variations in the experimental setup, it was determined that the change in water contact angle is a function of the UV irradiance and the work of adhesion follows a master curve versus UV irradiance. Nanoindentation experiments revealed that the modulus of the top 500 nm of the surface is increased following UV exposure, attributable to surface cross-linking. Adhesion tests to the surface (conducted by a pneumatic adhesion tensile test instrument) showed little change as a function of UV exposure. Analysis of adhesion test failure surfaces with X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) showed the locus of bond failure lay within the bulk polycarbonate and the measured bond strength is limited by the bulk properties of the polycarbonate and/or the creation of a weak boundary layer within the polymer.     

Robust super-hydrophobic ceramic coating on alumina with water and dirt repelling properties

Artificial super-hydrophobic surfaces are required for various applications. The super-hydrophobic surfaces are usually made by applying a low surface-energy organic coating on a highly textured substrate. A major problem with the as-created surfaces is their poor durability. This problem is even severer for the surfaces created by applying the organic coating on inorganic substrates. The present study reports for the first time the all-inorganic super-hydrophobic surface created by modifying the inorganic substrates with polymer-derived inorganic coating. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film was applied to an alumina substrate having flower-like hierarchal micro-nano surface texture, and then subjected to pyrolysis at 400°C in a nonoxidizing atmosphere. As a result, a Si_xC_yO_z ceramic coating with low-surface energy methyl groups was formed on the alumina substrate. The as-modified alumina exhibited super-hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 170° and a sliding angle of 5°. The super-hydrophobicity was well retained after abrasion with sandpaper and exposure to boiling water and acidic solution. The super-hydrophobic alumina demonstrated desired water repelling and self-cleaning function. The method explored in this study could also be used for super-hydrophobic surface modification of other inorganic materials such as glass and metals.     

Reversibly light-switchable wettability between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity of hybrid ZnO/bamboo surfaces via alternation of UV irradiation and dark storage

Functional bamboo surfaces with reversibly tunable wettability have become much sought after because of their usefulness in sustainable material protection strategies and industrial applications. In this paper, the hybrid ZnO/bamboo surfaces with reversibly light-switchable wettability between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity were successfully prepared via a hydrothermal method at low temperature. The bamboo substrates served as adhesion, and the well-aligned ZnO nanosheet arrays (WZNA) were deposited on the bamboo surfaces after a hydrothermal process. A subsequent chemical treatment with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) led to a superhydrophobic surface with a water contact angle (WCA) up to 153°. Under UV irradiation, the WCA decreased gradually, and the surface eventually became superhydrophilic because of hydroxyl absorption on the ZnO surfaces. The wetting behavior of the WZNA can be reversibly switched between superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic via alternation of UV exposure for 12 h and dark storage for 10 days.     

金属丝网超亲/疏水性强化气液相界面运动

利用多孔结构进行液体的导流和气液分离是近年来强化传热的研究热点,主要原理是气液固三相界面的受力平衡,固相材料的亲疏水性则是决定微孔内气液固三相界面运动规律的关键因素。针对具有一定亲水性的金属铜网,进行超亲水和超疏水处理;考察多孔结构亲疏水性对相界面以及气液两相分离效果的影响。结果表明,金属铜网具有浸润自相容性;经过亲疏水表面改性后,超亲水性能阻挡气泡的通过;超疏水性能的多孔铜网更易与气体为伍,形成致密气封膜,阻挡液体进犯。静态实验测定多孔丝网的浸润自相容能力,接触角为151°丝网,对液相阻滞力为117.6N·m^-2;接触角为0°的超亲水丝网对气相阻滞力为49N·m^-2,并建立了多孔结构浸润自相容性与分离临界气泡尺寸的数学关联。     

Surface and mechanical properties of an organic-inorganic super- hydrophobic coating using modified nano-SiO2 and mixing polyurethane emulsion as raw materials

A series of organic-inorganic super-hydrophobic coatings were prepared using nano-SiO₂ particles modified by fluorine and silicone coupling agents, and a mixing polyurethane emulsion as main raw materials. The mixing polyurethane emulsion was consisted of the polyurethane emulsion end-terminated by double bond (WPUD) and polyurethane emulsion modified by silicone (WPUS). The influence of content of modified nano-SiO₂ particles and the weight ratio of WPUS to WPUD on microstructure and hydrophobicity of the coating surface were studied. The morphologies of coating surface were examined using SEM and AFM, hydrophobicity of the coating was researched by examining static water contact angle and so on. It was found that modified nano-SiO₂ particle was an indispensable factor during the preparation of super-hydrophobic coating. The roughness and hydrophobicity of the coating surface were enhanced obviously with an increase of the content of the modified nano-SiO₂ particles. When the content of the modified nano-SiO₂ particles increased up to 1.5%, the surface of coating possessed good super-hydrophobicity, and static water contact angle reached 169.1°. It was also noticed that the weight ratio of WPUS to WPUD in the base layer has also an important influence on the hydrophobicity and mechanical property of coating surface. With an increase of the ratio of WPUS to WPUD the hydrophobicity of the coating was enhanced, the tensile strength and peel strength reduced, but the elongation at break increased. When the weight ratio of WPUS to WPUD reaches up to 9/100, the static water contact angle reaches the maximum value of 169.1°.     

Preparation of Smart Poly(SPAA‐co‐MMA) Film Materials for Regulating Wettability and Humidity by Electrospinning

Smart photoresponsive structured films with tunable wettability and ambient humidity were developed from acrylamino spiropyran–methyl methacrylate copolymer by electrospinning in this work. The wettability of the electrospun materials and ambient humidity can be reversibly regulated by the simple change of UV–Vis light irradiation due to the photoisomerization mechanism of spiropyran chromophore. Under UV light irradiation, the spiropyran molecules exhibit a colored polar open‐ring status which is hydrophilic, whereas under visible light irradiation it is colorless, nonpolar, and hydrophobic. As a promising and efficient method to produce surfaces with appropriate roughness, electrospinning was used to control the morphology of the copolymer surface, and significantly it is found that the roughness of the surface can strongly influence the reversible variation range of the water contact angle and humidity. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:E279–E286, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Water wettability/non-wettability of polymer materials by molecular orbital studies

The water wettability and non-wettability onto various kinds of polymers, which have so far been macroscopically described by the water contact angle, were investigated using the molecular orbital theory. An atomistic model consisting of an H₂O molecule and a selected polymer crystal surface was analyzed in the isolated and the physisorbed states. The degree of interaction between the water molecule and the polymer surface was evaluated by considering the change of Mulliken charge at the oxygen site in the water molecule, and also the work of adhesion during the physisorption process. Such energetic quantities for several polymers were compared with the macroscopic water wettability/non-wettability. We found fairly good agreement between these approaches for the highly non-wettability polymers.     

Ionomeric poly(urethane semicarbazides) with azobenzene groups in the main chain – studies on photoswitching behaviour and mechanical properties

Poly(urethane semicarbazide) anionomers containing azobenzene chromophores in the main chain were prepared by chain extending the isocyanate terminated prepolymers with chromophoric dihydrazide. Variations were done with respect to the hard segment content and the nature of the diisocyanate and the effect of the variations on the thermal, mechanical properties and wettability were studied. The polymers in solution showed reversible photoisomerization behaviour evinced by UV/vis spectroscopy in which irradiation of polymer solutions with UV light was observed as a decrease in intensity of absorbance corresponding to trans-form and increase in the absorbance of cis-form. The back relaxation took place in the presence of visible light. Photoswitching or the wettability of the films induced by the reversible cis–trans isomerization of the azobenzene chromophores was experimentally shown from water contact angle measurements. Irradiation of the films with 365 nm light effected a decrease in the water contact angle. X-ray diffraction results indicated dense arrangement of crystallized hard segments in compositions containing higher hard segment content. Thermal stability up to 300 °C was exhibited by the polymers as shown by thermogravimetric analysis and the phase separated morphology was confirmed by dynamic mechanical analysis. Tensile strength measurements showed that the films with increasing hard segment content exhibited increasing tensile strength and modulus but decreasing values of elongation.     

化学刻蚀法制备黄铜基超疏水表面

采用含有三氯化铁和盐酸的水溶液刻蚀金属黄铜表面，在黄铜表面上得到了一层由不规则块状结构和更细小的乳突状结构相结合的具有双重粗糙度的阶层结构。该表面经氟化处理后表现出超疏水性，水在该表面上的接触角达到了157°，接触角滞后为5°。考察了不同刻蚀时间对表面疏水性的影响，结果表明，刻蚀时间对表面上这种阶层结构的形成和水滴在表面上的接触角数据都有十分重要的影响。随着刻蚀时间的增加，表面上逐渐开始形成粗糙结构，接触角数据也不断增加，增加到一定数值后，接触角变化开始不明显。接触角滞后随着接触角的增加而减小。初步分析了这种阶层结构的形成机制，并用Cassie理论对表面的润湿性进行了分析。     

超疏水表面蒸汽及含不凝气蒸汽滴状冷凝传热实验分析

通过紫铜基表面上制备两种具有微纳米结构的超疏水表面以及相同化学修饰的光滑疏水表面,实验研究了各表面上空气环境下水的润湿特性以及在纯蒸汽、蒸汽-空气混合气体环境下,表面的滴状冷凝传热特性和冷凝液滴的运动和润湿特性。结果表明:纯蒸汽滴状冷凝条件下,超疏水表面的传热性能明显低于光滑疏水表面的传热性能;含低浓度不凝气蒸汽冷凝环境下,超疏水表面传热性能与光滑疏水表面相近;蒸汽冷凝环境中,超疏水表面上液滴的接触角明显低于其在空气条件下接触角,并且接触角滞后增大。分析得到,微纳米结构的存在使冷凝过程液滴的接触角滞后增大,微纳米结构中冷凝液滞留增加的壁面热阻等抑制了滴状冷凝传热性能;并提出了蒸汽及含不凝气蒸汽冷凝环境中液滴在超疏水表面上的润湿模式。     

Development of an ultraviolet constant angle Mie scattering detector toward the determination of aerosol growth kinetics in the transition and free molecular regime

Abstract

The measurement of aerosol growth kinetics at ever smaller sizes toward the transition and free molecular regime is of interest to provide for validation of theoretical predictions. Such measurements remain challenging to accomplish, particularly those occurring in the kinetic regime. Toward this goal, an instrument based on the ultraviolet constant angle Mie scattering (UV-CAMS) method was developed. The instrument utilizes adiabatic expansion to cause supersaturation and drive aerosol growth. Aerosol particles growing by water condensation are illuminated with a pulsed UV laser at 337?nm wavelength and a reference laser with red light (wavelength of 632?nm). The scattered light fluxes at 30° are measured simultaneously and are then compared with size resolved Mie scattering calculations providing aerosol growth measurements. The growth curves obtained from UV match those from the red laser. These measurements allow us to see the first Mie peak for UV scattering for particles in the 500?nm range. This is an almost two-fold resolution increase compared to the smallest particles that can be seen via red laser scattering in similar conditions (first Mie peak above 900?nm).     

Improved cell adhesion of poly(amino acid) surface by cyclic phosphonate modification for bone tissue engineering

Poly(amino acid) (PAA) has been currently used as organic part of biocomposites for bone regeneration and reconstruction, but a poor cell adhesive surface becomes its major limitation. In this study, a novel strategy to improve cell adhesion of PAA by introducing a phosphonate (CP) unit into main chain of PAA was proposed. Copolymerizing with CP, the cell adhesion ability of the copolymers was effectively and efficiently improved, corresponding to an adjusted surface wettability. The structure and modification mechanism of copolymers were completely studied based on their surface cell adhesion ability, intrinsic viscosity, compressive strength, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectra, X‐ray diffractometer, and water contact angle analyses. The surface wettability of PAA increased due to the formation of more hydrophilic groups (phosphoramide groups, carboxylic ester groups, and phosphomonoester groups) and stronger hydrogen bonds, which were induced by addition of CP. With a CP content of 1% and 2.5%, corresponding copolymers possessed sufficient compressive strength for bone repair and superior surface wettability 54.3° and 54.1° for mesenchymal stem cells adhesion. Since this valuable additional method improves cell adhesion ability of PAA surface, application of the PAA for bone tissue engineering would be broadened. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46226.     

Surface Dynamics vs. Adhesion in Oxygen Plasma Treated Polyolefins

Polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) were oxygen plasma treated and aged in carefully reproducible conditions. The effect of aging on the surface chemistry, wettability and adhesion were studied using a combination of techniques: contact angle measurements, XPS, SSIMS, adhesion tests (shear and pull).

PE was found to be relatively insensitive to aging both in terms of wettability and adhesion, due to crosslinking during plasma treatment, which is likely to reduce macromolecular mobility within the surface layer.

In the case of PP, dramatic decreases of wettability occur with time, due to macromolecular motions leading to minimization of oxygen-containing functions at the surface. This behavior was shown to affect the adhesion performance of treated PP.     

Study on the pretreatment method of glass-epoxy resin in the presence of TiO2 sol prepared by hydrothermal method

In the present study, the pretreatment of glass-epoxy resin using photoreaction of TiO₂ sol prepared by hydrothermal method was investigated. The surface properties for the pretreated substrate were examined, and the change of contact angle was measured to confirm the hydrophile property caused by the photocatalytic reaction. After the pretreatment, the surface was oxidized with showing no changes in its morphology. However, the surface roughness at nano-scale order increased with the photocatalytic reaction time. When UV light was irradiated for 60 min in TiO₂ sol, the adhesion strength of electroless-plated Cu film was most excellent in other test conditions.     

Adhesion failure of antiscratch coatings on polycarbonate under UV irradiation

The adhesion failure of antiscratch (AS) coatings on unmodified and plasma‐modified polycarbonate (PC) substrate was studied using both chemical and physical methods while considering the surface and interface changes between coatings and PC under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The differences in the wettability and surface elemental compositions of the PC surface (PCs) and AS coatings after UV ageing were evaluated by contact angle and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements. The nanoindentation technique was employed for the quantitative assessment of the changes in the nanomechanical properties of both PCs and AS coatings under UV irradiation. The adhesion of coating on plasma‐modified PC was found to be significantly better than that of unmodified substrates. The hydrophilicity and polarity of PCs covered by AS coatings were significantly increased because of the photodegradation of PCs, whereas silicon coatings remained invariant. Nanoindentation tests revealed an obvious enhancement in stiffness of the coating and exposed PC after ageing. Based on these experiments, we proposed that adhesion failure under UV irradiation may be caused by two reasons: first, the photodegradation that occurred at the PCs covered by AS coatings; and second, the stress induced by the changes in stiffness of both AS and PCs under UV ageing. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40507.