Janowicz, Norbert Jaroslaw; (2022) Fluorine-Free approach to fabrication of liquid repelling surfaces. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis presents research into enhancing durability of transparent fluorine-free superhydrophobic surfaces through the hybridisation of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with titanium dioxide. Sample preparation was achieved via a variety of wet deposition techniques such as spray coating, spin coating and aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (AACVD) resulting in self-cleaning, near transparent and durable materials. To address the main concern of adhesion and durability of transparent coatings containing PDMS, metal oxide hybridisation was achieved resulting in nano-pockets of titanium within the network that showed little to no detrimental effect on the transparency reaching 89% compared to glass 94%. As such, when combined with anatase and fumed silica, it resulted in a stable coating that showed self-cleaning through Cassie-Baxter wetting and resistance to UV over 21 days as shown with a stable water contact angle above 160° and no change in FTIR analysis. Finally, a composite consisting of 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) functionalised porous silica (25% mass grafted) and the hybrid Ti-PDMS was used as the precursor mixture for transparent (90%) superhydrophobic (168°) coatings achieved through AACVD with high durability of more than 25 abrasion cycles and homogenous in wetting behaviour pillar like structures. The coating was also shown to be self-cleaning with droplet roll off due to Cassie-Baxter wetting.

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