CBM2 Publishes Paper in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Researchers from CBM2, led by Prof. Michael C. Murphy of Louisiana State University, recently published a paper in Volume 574 of the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science titled, “Robust, transparent, superhydrophobic coatings using novel hydrophobic/hydrophilic dual-sized silica particles.” Authors on the paper are Xiaoxiao Zhao, Daniel S. Park, Junseo Choi, Sunggook Park, Steven A. Soper, and Michael C. Murphy.
The group hypothesizes that to mimic the superhydrophobic dual-scale surface structures of a lotus leaf, it may be possible to develop dual-sized particle films, in which small particles are decorated on large particles. The group found that a novel combination of hydrophobic silica (55 nm) and hydrophilic silica (200 nm) is essential in creating the hierarchical structures. By combining the strong adhesion of hydrophilic silica (bottom of coating film) to polymer substrates and porous structures of hydrophobic silica (top of coating film), they first time report a one-step and versatile approach to create uniform, transparent, robust, and superhydrophobic surface