Nanomaterials (Jun 2021)

Tunable Adhesive Self-Cleaning Coating with Superhydrophobicity and Photocatalytic Activity

  • Xuan Wang,
  • Weihua Ao,
  • Sijia Sun,
  • Han Zhang,
  • Run Zhou,
  • Yangzi Li,
  • Jie Wang,
  • Hao Ding

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11061486
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 6
p. 1486

Abstract

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Superhydrophobic coatings with intelligent properties have attracted much attention because of their wide application in many fields. However, there is a limited amount of literature on superhydrophobic coatings whose wettability and adhesion can be adjusted by UV irradiation and calcination at the same time. In this study, amorphous SiO2 microspheres (A-SiO2) and nano-TiO2 particles (N-TiO2) were used to fabricate A-SiO2/N-TiO2 composites by wet grinding, and then, they were modified with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and sprayed onto substrate surfaces to obtain a tunable adhesive superhydrophobic A-SiO2/N-TiO2@PDMS coating. It is worth noting that the wettability and adhesion of the coating to water droplets could be adjusted by UV irradiation and calcination. The mechanisms of the aforementioned phenomena were studied. Moreover, methyl orange solution could be degraded by the coating due to its photocatalysis. The as-prepared coating had good adaptation to different substrates and outdoor environments. Moreover, the surfaces of these coatings exhibited the same liquid repellency towards different droplets. This research provides an environmental strategy to prepare advanced self-cleaning coatings.

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