Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified Nanosilica

Hybrid sol–gel superhydrophobic coatings based on alkyl silane-modified nanosilica were synthesized and studied. The hybrid coatings were synthesized using the classic Stöber process for producing hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (NPs) modified by the in-situ addition of long-chain alkyl silanes co-...

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Main Authors: Dafna Heiman-Burstein, Anna Dotan, Hanna Dodiuk, Samuel Kenig
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/4/539
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spelling doaj-dfacf3bff4014f9e8b66806e60681b8e2021-02-13T00:01:12ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602021-02-011353953910.3390/polym13040539Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified NanosilicaDafna Heiman-Burstein0Anna Dotan1Hanna Dodiuk2Samuel Kenig3Department of Polymer Materials Engineering, The Pernick Faculty of Engineering Shenkar College, 12 Anna Frank Street, Ramat Gan 52526, IsraelDepartment of Polymer Materials Engineering, The Pernick Faculty of Engineering Shenkar College, 12 Anna Frank Street, Ramat Gan 52526, IsraelDepartment of Polymer Materials Engineering, The Pernick Faculty of Engineering Shenkar College, 12 Anna Frank Street, Ramat Gan 52526, IsraelDepartment of Polymer Materials Engineering, The Pernick Faculty of Engineering Shenkar College, 12 Anna Frank Street, Ramat Gan 52526, IsraelHybrid sol–gel superhydrophobic coatings based on alkyl silane-modified nanosilica were synthesized and studied. The hybrid coatings were synthesized using the classic Stöber process for producing hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (NPs) modified by the in-situ addition of long-chain alkyl silanes co-precursors in addition to the common tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). It was demonstrated that the long-chain alkyl substituent silane induced a steric hindrance effect, slowing the alkylsilane self-condensation and allowing for the condensation of the TEOS to produce the silica NPs. Hence, following the formation of the silica NPs the alkylsilane reacted with the silica’s hydroxyls to yield hybrid alkyl-modified silica NPs having superhydrophobic (SH) attributes. The resulting SH coatings were characterized by contact angle goniometry, demonstrating a more than 150° water contact angle, a water sliding angle of less than 5°, and a transmittance of more than 90%. Confocal microscopy was used to analyze the micro random surface morphology of the SH surface and to indicate the parameters related to superhydrophobicity. It was found that a SH coating could be obtained when the alkyl length exceeded ten carbons, exhibiting a raspberry-like hierarchical morphology.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/4/539Alkyl-modified hydrophilic silicasuperhydrophobic coatingssol–gel
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Dafna Heiman-Burstein
Anna Dotan
Hanna Dodiuk
Samuel Kenig
spellingShingle Dafna Heiman-Burstein
Anna Dotan
Hanna Dodiuk
Samuel Kenig
Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified Nanosilica
Polymers
Alkyl-modified hydrophilic silica
superhydrophobic coatings
sol–gel
author_facet Dafna Heiman-Burstein
Anna Dotan
Hanna Dodiuk
Samuel Kenig
author_sort Dafna Heiman-Burstein
title Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified Nanosilica
title_short Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified Nanosilica
title_full Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified Nanosilica
title_fullStr Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified Nanosilica
title_full_unstemmed Hybrid Sol–Gel Superhydrophobic Coatings Based on Alkyl Silane-Modified Nanosilica
title_sort hybrid sol–gel superhydrophobic coatings based on alkyl silane-modified nanosilica
publisher MDPI AG
series Polymers
issn 2073-4360
publishDate 2021-02-01
description Hybrid sol–gel superhydrophobic coatings based on alkyl silane-modified nanosilica were synthesized and studied. The hybrid coatings were synthesized using the classic Stöber process for producing hydrophilic silica nanoparticles (NPs) modified by the in-situ addition of long-chain alkyl silanes co-precursors in addition to the common tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS). It was demonstrated that the long-chain alkyl substituent silane induced a steric hindrance effect, slowing the alkylsilane self-condensation and allowing for the condensation of the TEOS to produce the silica NPs. Hence, following the formation of the silica NPs the alkylsilane reacted with the silica’s hydroxyls to yield hybrid alkyl-modified silica NPs having superhydrophobic (SH) attributes. The resulting SH coatings were characterized by contact angle goniometry, demonstrating a more than 150° water contact angle, a water sliding angle of less than 5°, and a transmittance of more than 90%. Confocal microscopy was used to analyze the micro random surface morphology of the SH surface and to indicate the parameters related to superhydrophobicity. It was found that a SH coating could be obtained when the alkyl length exceeded ten carbons, exhibiting a raspberry-like hierarchical morphology.
topic Alkyl-modified hydrophilic silica
superhydrophobic coatings
sol–gel
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/4/539
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