Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Coating (SiO2/PDMS) by a Simple Method

A simple and economical method for producing a superhydrophobic surface on a glass substrate is investigated. The surface composes of silica particles synthesized via a sol-gel method with an average particle size of 69.33 nm. Organosilan PDMS (FS-1200 silicon sealant) was used to reduce the surface energy of particles, which were then coated onto a glass substrate by dip coating. After coating, the substrate was dried for one hour at 60ºC in an oven to remove excess solvent. XRD, FE-SEM, FTIR, and contact angle (CA) measurement techniques were used to characterize silica particles and coated surfaces. The water contact angle (WCA) of pure SiO2 (NPs) was 86º indicating its hydrophilic qualities, while the contact angle of a superhydrophobic surface was 156º.