Superhydrophobic and transparent coating with superior durability
A new work describes a highly transparent, superhydrophobic (self-cleaning), mechanically robust, durable hybrid coating for electronic and optical devices.
As one of the essential components for electronic and optical devices, coating materials that should be highly transparent, superhydrophobic (self-cleaning), mechanically robust, and durable have been researched for many years. However, it remains a big challenge to improve the mechanical strength and durability of the coating without sacrificing its transparency and hydrophobicity through a facile and low-cost technology.
Outstanding durability
Now, an organic/inorganic hybrid coating consisting of self-designed resin with long-fluorine groups and hydrophobic silica nanoparticles was fabricated via a facile sol-gel/spin coating technology. The as-synthesised hybrid coating inherited the advantages of the self-designed resin (hardness and transparency) and hydrophobic nanoparticles (nano-structure) which displayed excellent superhydrophobicity, outstanding mechanical property, and high transparency.
Most importantly, the coating exhibits outstanding durability towards strong acid, UV light, water droplets, and heat, which can be crucial for its practical application especially in harsh conditions.
The study has been published in Progress in Organic Coatings, Volume 157, August 2021.
