Simple technique creates superhydrophobic surface from Teflon
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029642
Chemical & Engineering News : Superhydrophobic materials are of interest as a covering to repel water from all sorts of objects. However, those materials are hard to make and easy to damage. Now Chiara Neto of the University of Sydney, Australia, and her colleagues have developed a process for easily creating a superhydrophobic material. Neto’s team deposited Teflon on two types of plastics that shrink when heated. When the Teflon-covered materials are heated, the Teflon is forced to contract, creating a superhydrophobic surface that mixes nanometer-scale wrinkles with micrometer-scale folds. Crucially, the surface is nearly as resistant to being scratched as an aluminum coating.
