Superhydrophobic and superoleophobic fabrics fabricated by coating with modified polyanilines

Abstract

Superhydrophobic and superoleophobic surfaces with extremely high repellency towards various water and oil liquids have attracted significant attentions. In this thesis, superhydrophobic and superoleophobic fabrics were prepared by coating it with fluorinated nanostructured polyaniline using two different methods. Superhydrophobic fabric was prepared using a spray-coating method based on fluorinated polyaniline nanoparticle/polymer composites. The fluorinated polyaniline particles were synthesized by oxidative polymerization of aniline, and subsequent functionalization of polyaniline by 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol. The coated fabrics showed contact angles of 153° for water. Moreover, the superhydrophobic surfaces also showed excellent mechanical and chemical durability under harsh conditions. Superamphiphobic fabrics were prepared by in-situ deposition of polyaniline(PANI), which was carried out by oxidative chemical polymerization of aniline using HCl as an acidic medium and ammonium persulfate as oxidant, and subsequent functionalization of the PANI by 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecanethiol. The treated fabrics showed high liquid repellency for both water and various oils. Surfaces of the coated fabrics are characterized by FE-SEM and contact angle measurement, and their photo-thermal effect under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation was examined.