Transparent and robust SiO₂/PDMS composite coatings with self-cleaning

ABSTRACT

In recent years, people have paid increasing attention to improving the durability of highly transparent superhydrophobic surfaces. In this work, we first synthesized a superhydrophobic silica powder by using a one-step sol–gel method and then compounded it with Polydimethylsiloxane. After spin-coating on the glass surface, a transparent superhydrophobic glass with a high water contact angle (158°) was acquired. In the visible region (400–800 nm), the transmittance of the coated glass substrate was higher than 80%. Moreover, the obtained coating can maintain stable superhydrophobicity after undergoing treatment from −15 to 450°C and under extreme environmental conditions, such as strong acidity and alkalinity. In addition, the coating can maintain excellent superhydrophobicity even after exposure to a large amount of water flow impact.

KEYWORDS:

• Superhydrophobic
• Transparent
• Durable
• Thermal stable

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2016CFB507). This work was also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51572072, 51603063 and 21402045).