This surface treatment far exceeds the durability of available self-cleaning superhydrophobic and oleophobic coatings, increasing the lifetime of the coating and providing a significant marketing advantage. This water and oil repellent coating could be applied to surfaces requiring self-cleaning and wear-resistant properties such as anti-fingerprint coatings for touch-screens and windows. In 2015, tablet sales will surpass sales of personal computers for the first time and more than 2 billion people worldwide will use a smartphone , creating an increasing need for durable surfaces that repel water and oil. This lucrative solution is applicable to many platforms. Available surface treatments have yet to overcome the degradation of the coatings observed in everyday use, which severely limits product use lifetimes. University of Florida researchers use thermoset-thermoplastic composites with multiple reentrant surface topography to render surfaces superhydrophobic and oleophobic, a significant improvement in durability to plastron technology. The goal of this surface treatment is to provide a wear-resistant surface coating that doesn’t lose its shape or functionality when exposed to environmental conditions over time.
Durable superhydrophobic and oleophobic coating for self-cleaning surfaces
This surface coating is an improvement over previous methods of hairy plastron technology. The method of preparing the surface treatment includes providing a membrane with pores, providing a polymeric precursor that is forced into the membrane and the pores, cured, and then separated to form a superhydrophobic surface. By adding a perfluorinated coating to the polymeric network, the surface becomes superoleophobic in addition to being superhydrophobic.