Issue 13, 2020

Polydimethylsiloxane-based superhydrophobic membranes: fabrication, durability, repairability, and applications

Abstract

A series of challenges, such as abrasion sensitivity and weak adhesion, has hindered the development of superhydrophobic materials for use in emerging fields. In this work, a roughness-regenerating superhydrophobic membrane with durability and repairability characteristics was synthesized via integrating vinyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (V-PDMS), vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES), and silica particles (SiO2). With the optimization of the textured material, double cross-linking networks and dual-scale rough structures were established in the polymer skeleton, endowing the superhydrophobic membrane with outstanding superhydrophobicity (CA: >164°; SA: <1°). Taking advantage of the bulk superhydrophobicity and roughness-regenerating characteristics, the superhydrophobic membrane demonstrated mechanical durability during multi-cycle sandpaper abrasion (>75 cycles). More importantly, the roughness-regenerating characteristics enabled the special wettability of the damaged superhydrophobic membrane to be repaired via sanding treatment without the utilization of healing agents (>15 cycles). Interestingly, based on the underwater light-reflection of the superhydrophobic material, underwater pattern display was successfully realized on the superhydrophobic membrane, which may broaden its fields of application. Our findings certainly introduce a facile method to fabricate advanced superhydrophobic materials for use in emerging fields.

Graphical abstract: Polydimethylsiloxane-based superhydrophobic membranes: fabrication, durability, repairability, and applications

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Dec 2019
Accepted
13 Feb 2020
First published
03 Mar 2020

Polym. Chem., 2020,11, 2370-2380

Polydimethylsiloxane-based superhydrophobic membranes: fabrication, durability, repairability, and applications

M. Liu, Y. Luo and D. Jia, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11, 2370 DOI: 10.1039/C9PY01861A

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