A new spray-on, superhydrophobic (water-repellent) coating, developed by scientists at The Australian National University (ANU) (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia), has potential uses that include protecting ship hulls from corrosion, preventing ice formation on aircraft, and even waterproofing mobile phones.
According to researcher William Wong, a Ph.D. student in the Nanotechnology Research Laboratory at the university’s Research School of Engineering, the transparent, ultraviolet radiation-resistant coating surface is comprised of a layer of nanoparticles that allows water to slide off. To do this, coating combines two plastics—one tough and one flexible—similar to two interwoven fishing nets made of different materials, he says.
The researchers were able to stabilize fragile nanomaterials which resulted in ultra-durable nanotextures, which is a key innovation, explains Associate Professor Antonio Tricoli, lead researcher and head of the Nanotechnology Research Laboratory.
In addition to waterproofing, this ability to control the properties of materials could be applied to a wide range of other coatings. For example, Wong says, the same principles can be used to make robust coatings that are anticorrosive, self-cleaning, and oil-repellent.
Two methods for creating the material, which are easier and less expensive than current manufacturing processes, have been developed by the research team. One uses a flame to generate the nanoparticle constituents of the material. The other dissolves the two components into a sprayable form for lower-temperature applications.
Their research is published in the May 2016 ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces article, “Ultra-Durable and Transparent Self-Cleaning Surfaces by Large-Scale Self-Assembly of Hierarchical Interpenetrated Polymer Networks,” by W.S.Y. Wong, et al.
Source: Australian National University, anu.edu.au.