Preparation of superhydrophobic coatings by saturated fatty acid modification using a one-step spraying method

Abstract

Superhydrophobic surfaces are very common in daily life, however, the use of environmentally hazardous and expensive fluorinated materials or poor mechanical and chemical properties can have a huge negative impact on their practical applications. In this paper, fluorine-free and environmentally friendly superhydrophobic coatings were prepared on glass, fabric and filter paper by one-step spraying method, which is a simple and low-cost process. In order to investigate the effect of different types of fatty acids on the wettability of nanoparticles ZIF-8 (MOF) after modification, four fatty acid modifiers, namely lauric acid (LA), myristic acid (MA), palmitic acid (PA), and stearic acid (SA), were chosen to make the superhydrophobic coating. The mechanical properties of the coatings were improved by using aqueous epoxy resin as a binder layer. The superhydrophobic coatings obtained were both mechanically and chemically stable, and also had excellent self-cleaning, anti-fouling, delayed icing and corrosion resistance properties. Compared with other fatty acid modifiers, the superhydrophobic coating prepared by SA had the best overall performance. Its water contact angle was 159.3° sliding angle was 2.5°, and its impedance value was the highest for the initial immersion, amounting to 4.95 × 10⁷ Ω⋅cm²。