Laser-Induced Superhydrophobic Surface of Silicone Rubber and Its Wear Resistance

Abstract

Silicone rubber is a widely used insulating material， and the surface modification of silicone rubber to achieve superhydrophobicity enhances its safety and reliability in practical applications.Laser processing of silicone rubber surfaces is able to prepare superhydrophobic surfaces green and efficiently， and makes it corrosion resistance， icing resistance， self-cleaning and other properties.However， the fragile hydrophobic structure on the surface is susceptible to external mechanical wear in practical applications of superhydrophobic surfaces.In this study，superhydrophobic silicone rubber surfaces with different surface micro- and nanocomposite structures were prepared by varying the laser energy density.The abrasion resistance of the superhydrophobic silicone rubber surfaces was investigated through designing sandpaper abrasion tests:under a pressure of 2.2 kPa， the superhydrophobic surface was subjected to a single 100 mm abrasion on 2 000 ＃ sandpaper， and the changes of surface morphology were observed after the loss of superhydrophobicity.Results showed that continuous wear destroyed the micro- and nanocomposite structures on the surface of superhydrophobic silicone rubber， resulting in its failure of hydrophobicity.The superhydrophobic surface obtained with laser energy density of 15.0 J/cm2 maintained their hydrophobicity after 12 times of abrasion， whereas the superhydrophobic surface obtained with a laser energy density of 10.0 J/cm2 lost its hydrophobic properties after 7 times of wear.This might be attributed to the fact that higher laser energy densities constructed a more compact and uniform micro- and nanocomposite structure on the surface， and thereby exhibited better abrasion resistance.

Keywords

• laser technology； silicone rubber； superhydrophobic surface； laser energy density； wear resistance