Nanotechnology based super-hydrophobic surfaces:

properties and applications

*Gagan Dahiya and Akash Tripathi
Dr. S.S.B.UICET, Panjab University, Chandigarh
*gagan.dahiya@gmail.com

Abstract
Super-hydrophobicity is the surface property of the molecule that is repelled from water. Any
surface like glass, fabric, metal and plastic, when coated with these particles becomes
superhydrophobic i.e. extremely difficult to wet. There are two general approaches to create
nano-textures to achieve superhydrophobicity, top-down fabrication and bottom-up assembly
or combination of both. Top-down fabrication methods include standard fabrication process
like photolithography, e-beam lithography, plasma etching and soft lithography, electrospinning of polystyrene. And bottom up assembly methods include sol-gel process,
microphase separation, templating, nanoparticle assembly, atmospheric pressure deposition,
aerosol deposition etc. Nanoparticles used for surface coatings can be fluoroalkylsilane
(FSA), Polytetrafluoroethalene (PTFE), alkylketene dimmers (AKDs), polyalkylpyrrole,
carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and silica-based groups. Multidisciplinary properties of these
surfaces include self cleaning, icephobicity, anti-corrosion and drag reduction. They also
exhibit optical properties like transparency, anti-reflection, structural colour and properties
like anisotropy, oil-water separation and super-amphibocity. Transparent super-hydrophobic
coatings are useful for the protection of buildings, clothes, papers, and art pieces. Functional
principle is that these surfaces exhibit high surface tension, due to which water droplets tend
to minimise its surface area and there by attains a spherical shape. The contact angle between
water droplet and surface is more than 150 with small sliding angle of 6-8 which is caused
by nano and microstructures. This nanotechnology based super-hydrophobic surfaces find
their applications in self-cleaning, surface protection, textiles, anti-corrosion, anti-fogging,
oil-water separation, microfluidics and adsorption. These also possess medical applications,
which make tools and surfaces to remain sterile even after being in contact with contaminated
fluids.

Keywords:
Super-hydrophobicity, carbon nanotubes, lithography, self-cleaning, nanoparticle, anticorrosion