Superhydrophobic hybrid micro-nanocomposites for non-stick and self-cleaning coatings

A hybrid micro-nanocomposites suspension was prepared in a simple and economically approachable way using lotus leaf powder/polymethylhydroxysiloxane/phenyl-substituted silica ormosil. The suspension was coated on a glass or a laminating film at various spin coating speeds (500, 1000, and 2000 rpm). Surface properties, transparency, contact angle (CA), non-stick, and self-cleaning properties of the spin-coated surfaces were measured. The hybrid micro-nanocomposites suspension shows superhydrophobic property (CA over 175°) on the glass or laminating film substrates. The superhydrophobicity of the fabricated surfaces was stable up to 500 °C but became superhydrophilic when drying at or above 550 °C for 5 h. The hybrid also displays excellent non-stick and self-cleaning behaviors (against Zn dust with <10 µm size, Portland cement and sea sand) on a spin-coated substrate.