Facile Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Nanocomposite Coatings Based on Water‐Based Emulsion Latex

Abstract To prepare water‐based superhydrophobic coatings with excellent properties would be of great significance, but it remains difficult to solve the problems of uneven dispersion of hydrophobic modified inorganic nanofillers in water and poor interfacial compatibility between hydrophilic inorganic nanofillers and polymer matrix in the film. Herein a novel and green technology is reported to disperse dodecyltriethoxysilane in water‐based polymer system uniformly by adsorbing it on the surface of emulsion latex particles first. Then after silica nanoparticles being introduced into the system, the hydrophobic modification is realized by the coupling reaction between silica nanoparticles and the alkylsilane in the film‐forming process. Furthermore, various common water‐based emulsion latexes are able to be applied as the binder between the modified nanoparticles and substrates. The resulting coatings exhibit excellent superhydrophobicity and show remarkable mechanical durability as well as chemical stability. In addition, these nanocomposite coatings are demonstrated of high performance for oil/water separation. The findings provide a valuable way to fabricate water‐based and fluorine‐free superhydrophobic coatings with excellent properties for potential industrial applications.