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Applied Surface Science, ,Volume 295, 2014, Pages 203–206.
T. Simovich, A.H. Wu, R.N. Lamb.
Surface Science and Technology Group, School of Chemistry, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia.
Abstract
A durable and superhydrophobic coating was fabricated at room temperature through encapsulating nylon micro-rods in a hydrophobic silica shell. This was achieved through the precipitation of miniemulsified nylon under high shear to generate micro-rods with high aspect ratio in the presence of methyltrimethoxysilane. The resultant coating structure resembles a network of highly entangled micro-rods that give rise to both surface roughness and hydrophobicity, resulting in contact angles greater than 155°. The embedded nylon polymer within the micro-rods imparts significant mechanical durability to the surface, resulting in a coating hardness of 2H using the pencil hardness test.
