Constellation, le dépôt institutionnel de l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Résumé

The widespread use of water-repellent superhydrophobic surfaces is limited by the inherent fragility of their micro- and nanoscale roughness, which is prone to damage and degradation. Here, we report a non-fluorinated volumetric superhydrophobic nanocomposites that demonstrate mechanochemical robustness. The nanocomposites are produced through the addition of microscale diatomaceous earth and nanoscale fumed silica particles to high-temperature vulcanized silicone rubber. The water-repellency of the surface and bulk of nanocomposites having 120 phr of filler was determined based on the water contact angle and contact angle hysteresis. We compared the water-repellency of nanocomposites of differing diatomaceous earth to fumed silica mass ratios. Increasing the amount of diatomaceous earth enhanced the water-repellency of the nanocomposite surface, whereas an increased amount of fumed silica improved the water-repellency of the bulk material. Moreover, increasing the diatomaceous earth/fumed silica mass ratio improved the cross-linking density and hardness values of the nanocomposite. Despite being subjected to a range of mechanical durability tests, including sandpaper abrasion, knife scratching, tape peeling, water jet impact, and sandblasting, the nanocomposite maintained a water contact angle of 163° and contact angle hysteresis of 2°. When the water-repellency of the prepared nanocomposites eventually deteriorated, we restored their superhydrophobicity by removing the upper surface of the nanocomposite. This extraordinary robustness stems from the embedded low surface energy micro/nanostructures distributed throughout the nanocomposite. We also demonstrated the chemical stability, UV resistance, and self-cleaning abilities of the nanocomposite to illustrate the potential for real-life applications of this material.