Surfaces with Sustainable Superhydrophobicity upon Mechanical Abrasion

Surfaces with sustainable superhydrophobicity have drawn much attention in recent years for improved durability in practical applications. In this study, hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSNs) were prepared and used as reservoirs to load dodecyltrimethoxysilane (DDTMS). Then superhydrophobic surfaces were fabricated by spray coating HMSNs with DDTMS as particle stacking structure and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as hydrophobic interconnection. The mechanical durability of the obtained superhydrophobic surface was evaluated by a cyclic sand abrasion. It was found that once the surface was mechanically damaged, new roughening structures made of the cavity of the HMSNs would expose and maintain suitable hierarchical roughness surrounded by PDMS and DDTMS, favoring sustainable superhydrphobicity of the coating. The surfaces could sustain superhydrophobicity even after 1000 cycles of sand abrasion. This facile strategy may pave the way to the development of robust superhydrophobic surfaces in practical applications.