Robust Non-Wetting PTFE Surfaces by Femtosecond Laser Machining

Nature shows many examples of surfaces with extraordinary wettability, which can often be associated with particular air-trapping surface patterns. Here, robust non-wetting surfaces have been created by femtosecond laser ablation of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The laser-created surface structure resembles a forest of entangled fibers, which support structural superhydrophobicity even when the surface chemistry is changed by gold coating. SEM analysis showed that the degree of entanglement of hairs and the depth of the forest pattern correlates positively with accumulated laser fluence and can thus be influenced by altering various laser process parameters. The resulting fibrous surfaces exhibit a tremendous decrease in wettability compared to smooth PTFE surfaces; droplets impacting the virgin or gold coated PTFE forest do not wet the surface but bounce off. Exploratory bioadhesion experiments showed that the surfaces are truly air-trapping and do not support cell adhesion. Therewith, the created surfaces successfully mimic biological surfaces such as insect wings with robust anti-wetting behavior and potential for antiadhesive applications. In addition, the fabrication can be carried out in one process step, and our results clearly show the insensitivity of the resulting non-wetting behavior to variations in the process parameters, both of which make it a strong candidate for industrial applications.     

Electrospinning of Fluorinated Polymers: Formation of Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Summary: Superhydrophobic surfaces are generated by a simple one‐step method of electrospinning of fluorinated homopolymers and copolymers of PFS. The hydrophobicity and superhydrophobicity can be changed by simply changing the surface morphology, which is possible by changing the electrospinning conditions. The appropriate combination of surface morphology and fluorinated materials led to the formation of super‐water‐resistant coatings showing the ‘water‐roll’ effect at an angle of 0°, i.e. placement of water droplets on such surfaces was not possible as they immediately rolled away. The effect is compared with the corresponding nonfluorinated PS and found to be clearly distinct in terms of water‐roll effect. Incorporation of about 30 mol‐% PFS onto the PS backbone could also convert hydrophobic PS surfaces to superhydrophobic surfaces. The effect is generalized by also using a new fluorinated poly(p‐xylylene) derivative. The molecular weight of the polymers has no noticeable effect on hydrophobicity/superhydrophobicity behavior.

SEM micrographs PFS–styrene copolymer, 10% solution in THF:DMF (1:1 v/v); 5% solution in THF:DMF (1:1 v/v) and homo‐PPFS < 2% solution in THF:DMF (1:1 v/v).     

从自然到仿生的超疏水表面的微观结构

利用体视显微镜、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、接触角测量仪对蝴蝶翅膀和蝉翼表面的微细结构及疏水性能进行研究发现:蝴蝶翅膀表面的微米级孔穴和蝉翼表面的纳米阶层柱状结构,是其表面具有超疏水特性的根本原因.受此启发,用激光直写法和软刻蚀法制备出微米级周期排列的方柱、方孔微结构,测量其表面静态接触角分别为151.4°和121.7°.实验结果表明,周期排列的方柱和方孔微结构增强了固体表面的疏水性,且微结构的形态对润湿性能有很大的影响.用经典润湿理论对实验结果进行理论分析发现,Cassie理论与Wenzel理论分别适用于不同程度润湿性能的疏水微结构表面,且微结构的参数影响其表面的润湿性能.     

A free-standing superhydrophobic film for highly efficient removal of water from turbine oil

A free-standing superhydrophobic film is prepared by sequentially dip-coating a commercially available filter paper with nano SiO2 suspension, epoxy emulsion, and octyltrimethoxysilane solution. A surface with micro- or nano-roughness is formed because SiO2 nanoparticles are uniformly and firmly adhered on the backbone of the filter paper by the cured epoxy resin. Furthermore, the surface energy is significantly reduced because of introducing octytrimethoxysilane. Such a surface structure makes the prepared film a superhydrophobic material. Due to its free-standing nature, this superhydrophobic film can be used to remove water from turbine oil by filtration. The efficiency of water removal is high (up to 94.1%), and the filtration process is driven solely by gravity without extra energy consumption. Because of the facile fabrication process and the high efficiency of water removal, this free-standing superhydrophobic film may find application in power industry.     

Multifunctional phase change microcapsules based on graphene oxide Pickering emulsion for photothermal energy conversion and superhydrophobicity

In order to enlarge the applications of microencapsulated phase change materials (microPCMs), the novel stearic acid (SA)@graphene oxide (GO)/melamine-formaldehyde (MF) multifunctional superhydrophobic microPCMs were prepared with the method of condensation polymerization. We have made a systematical study of the effects of GO content on the SA@GO/MF microPCMs. The morphology and chemical composition characterizations showed the successful fabrication of microcapsules. The differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) identified that microPCMs could store latent heat energy. According to the contact angles (CA) measurement, the microPCMs displayed the water contact angle of 160.2°, which possessed the superhydrophobic property. Moreover, the self-cleaning property of SA@GO/MF microPCMs was demonstrated by designing self-cleaning experiment. The simulated irradiation experiment showed the good photothermal conversion performance of microPCMs. Owing to photothermal energy conversion performance and superhydrophobicity, multifunctional phase change microcapsules could have vital potentials in energy conversion and self-cleaning.     

蝴蝶翅膀表面非光滑鳞片对润湿性的影响

对8科34属48种蝴蝶翅膀表面的润湿性进行了定性、定量研究。用扫描电子显微镜对蝴蝶翅膀表面进行观察得到:鳞片长为55~150μm,宽为35~105μm,鳞片上突起的高为200~950 nm。用视频光学接触角测量仪对翅膀表面的静态接触角和滚动角进行测量得到:接触角为134.0°~159.2°,表明翅膀表面具有较强的疏水性;顺向滚动角均小于3°,逆向滚动角均大于65°,表明翅膀鳞片结构具有明显的各向异性。蝴蝶翅膀表面的润湿性是由鳞片微米和纳米结构协同作用的结果。