DEVELOPMENT OF SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACES USING NANOMATERIALS

Author (s) : D.Gopinath & S.Rafiahamed, K.Sasikala & C.Eswari

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Abstract :
Self-cleaning surface is a one designed to clean itself, often automatically. The lotus leaf is a good example of a naturally existing self-cleaning surface. This property of a surface could be improved by using suitable coating materials with high surface roughness and low surface energy. Such materials with superhydrophobic properties have a wide range of applications in many industries. For this purpose graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles were synthesized using graphite oxide made from graphite by modified Hummer’s method. Similarly, silica (SiO2) nanoparticles were prepared using tetraethyl orthosilicate precursor and its surface was chemically modified using a silane coupling agent 3- aminopropyltriethoxysilane. By using SiO2 and GO the hybrid GO/SiO2-NH2 was synthesized. Characterization of synthesized nano particles was done using SEM, XRD and FT-IR spectroscopy. To prepare coatings with different compositions different proportions of graphene oxide/ silanized silicon dioxide (GO/SiO2-NH2) hybrid was added to polyvinylidenefluoride in order to form 0.00%, 5.00%, 15.00%, 25.00%, 35.00% and 45.00% compositions. Glass slides were coated with this material using spin coating method. Water contact angles were measured using computer software. The water contact angle for polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) coating (the control) was 78.21°. The highest contact angle of 165.62° was observed with double coated 25.00% GO/SiO2-NH2 hybrid composition. It was concluded that hybrid of nano GO and silanized nano SiO2 with organic polymers like PVDF show promising superhydrophobic properties which could be further improved by better coating methods.

Keywords : self-cleaning, superhydrophobic, graphene oxide, silica, polyvinylidenefluoride

Conference Date : 17/09/2021

Pages : 276

Paper ID : IESMDT274