TY - JOUR
T1 - Ultrafast Flame-Induced Pyrolysis of Poly(dimethylsiloxane) Foam Materials toward Exceptional Superhydrophobic Surfaces and Reliable Mechanical Robustness
AU - Zhang, Guo Dong
AU - Wu, Zhi Hao
AU - Xia, Qiao Qi
AU - Qu, Yong Xiang
AU - Pan, Hong Tao
AU - Hu, Wan Jun
AU - Zhao, Li
AU - Cao, Kun
AU - Chen, Er Yu
AU - Yuan, Zhou
AU - Gao, Jie Feng
AU - Mai, Yiu Wing
AU - Tang, Long Cheng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2021/5/19
Y1 - 2021/5/19
N2 - Superhydrophobic surfaces are imperative in flexible polymer foams for diverse applications; however, traditional surface coatings on soft skeletons are often fragile and can hardly endure severe deformation, making them unstable and highly susceptible to cyclic loadings. Therefore, it remains a great challenge to balance their mutual exclusiveness of mechanical robustness and surface water repellency on flexible substrates. Herein, we describe how robust superhydrophobic surfaces on soft poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) foams can be achieved using an extremely simple, ultrafast, and environmentally friendly flame scanning strategy. The ultrafast flame treatment (1-3 s) of PDMS foams produces microwavy and nanosilica rough structures bonded on the soft skeletons, forming robust superhydrophobic surfaces (i.e., water contact angles (WCAs) > 155° and water sliding angles (WSAs) < 5°). The rough surface can be effectively tailored by simply altering the flame scanning speed (2.5-15.0 cm/s) to adjust the thermal pyrolysis of the PDMS molecules. The optimized surfaces display reliable mechanical robustness and excellent water repellency even after 100 cycles of compression of 60% strain, stretching of 100% strain, and bending of 90° and hostile environmental conditions (including acid/salt/alkali conditions, high/low temperatures, UV aging, and harsh cyclic abrasion). Moreover, such flame-induced superhydrophobic surfaces are easily peeled off from ice and can be healable even after severe abrasion cycles. Clearly, the flame scanning strategy provides a facile and versatile approach for fabricating mechanically robust and surface superhydrophobic PDMS foam materials for applications in complex conditions.
AB - Superhydrophobic surfaces are imperative in flexible polymer foams for diverse applications; however, traditional surface coatings on soft skeletons are often fragile and can hardly endure severe deformation, making them unstable and highly susceptible to cyclic loadings. Therefore, it remains a great challenge to balance their mutual exclusiveness of mechanical robustness and surface water repellency on flexible substrates. Herein, we describe how robust superhydrophobic surfaces on soft poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) foams can be achieved using an extremely simple, ultrafast, and environmentally friendly flame scanning strategy. The ultrafast flame treatment (1-3 s) of PDMS foams produces microwavy and nanosilica rough structures bonded on the soft skeletons, forming robust superhydrophobic surfaces (i.e., water contact angles (WCAs) > 155° and water sliding angles (WSAs) < 5°). The rough surface can be effectively tailored by simply altering the flame scanning speed (2.5-15.0 cm/s) to adjust the thermal pyrolysis of the PDMS molecules. The optimized surfaces display reliable mechanical robustness and excellent water repellency even after 100 cycles of compression of 60% strain, stretching of 100% strain, and bending of 90° and hostile environmental conditions (including acid/salt/alkali conditions, high/low temperatures, UV aging, and harsh cyclic abrasion). Moreover, such flame-induced superhydrophobic surfaces are easily peeled off from ice and can be healable even after severe abrasion cycles. Clearly, the flame scanning strategy provides a facile and versatile approach for fabricating mechanically robust and surface superhydrophobic PDMS foam materials for applications in complex conditions.
KW - hierarchical micro-/nanostructure
KW - mechanical robustness
KW - polymer foam materials
KW - superhydrophobic surface
KW - ultrafast thermal pyrolysis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85106384170&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsami.1c03272
DO - 10.1021/acsami.1c03272
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 33955739
AN - SCOPUS:85106384170
SN - 1944-8244
VL - 13
SP - 23161
EP - 23172
JO - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
JF - ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
IS - 19
ER -