Facile Selective and Diverse Fabrication of Superhydrophobic, Superoleophobic-Superhydrophilic and Superamphiphobic Materials from Kaolin

Abstract

As the starting material, kaolin is selectively and diversely fabricated to the superhydrophobic, superoleophobic-superhydrophilic, and superamphiphobic materials, respectively. The wettability of the kaolin surface can be selectively controlled and regulated to different superwetting states by choosing the corresponding modification reagent. The procedure is facile to operate, and no special technique or equipment is required. In addition, the procedure is cost-effective and time-saving and the obtained super-repellent properties are very stable. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis demonstrates different changes of kaolin particles surfaces which are responsible for the different super-repellency. The scanning electron microscopy displays geometric micro- and nanometer structures of the obtained three kinds of super-repellent materials. The results show that kaolin has good applications in many kinds of superwetting materials. The method demonstrated in this paper provides a new strategy for regulating and controlling the wettability of solid surfaces selectively, diversely, and comprehensively.

Bioinspired Surfaces with Superamphiphobic Properties: Concepts, Synthesis, and Applications

“…Astonishingly, such surface could retain the outstanding self‐cleaning property even after oil contamination and 50 abrasion cycles with sandpaper (Figure a–f) . Qu et al have fabricated three different super‐repellent surfaces, the superhydrophobic, superamphiphobic, and superoleophobic–superhydrophilic materials by modifying kaolin particles. They have evaluated the self‐cleaning performance of the three types of coatings by placing them separately in a slightly inclined watch glass with methyl blue powders as the model dust.…”

“…Self‐cleaning performance of g) superhydrophobic, h) superoleophobic–superhydrophilic, and i) superamphiphobic materials are tested with methyl blue powder. g–i) Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2016, American Chemical Society.…”

“…So far, it has been well established that the suitable surface roughness or surface feature in conjunction with low surface energy materials are the two essential elements to fabricate superamphiphobic surfaces ( Figure ), and this has been the foundation for almost all the development of superamphiphobic surfaces in recent years . With the competence of building the superamphiphobic surfaces, a wide range of application‐driven researches have emerged in recent years, such as oil‐water separation, self‐cleaning, antiicing, antifouling, patterning, droplet‐manipulation, and so on …”

“…d) The CAs of water and oil on superhydrophobic and superoleophilic surfaces and corresponding images. Reproduced with permission . Copyright 2016, American Chemical Society.…”

Mechanically Robust and Thermally Stable Colorful Superamphiphobic Coatings

“…For example, the surface tension of water is 72.8 mN m −1 , whereas the surface tensions of toluene and n -dodecane are 28.4 and 25.4 mN m −1 , respectively. Great efforts have been made for preparing superamphiphobic coatings (Zimmermann et al, 2008 ; Liu et al, 2010 ; Cho et al, 2016 ; Papadopoulos et al, 2016 ; Qu et al, 2016 ). However, only a few studies reported superamphiphobic coatings from which the liquids of low surface tension (< 27.5 mN m −1 ) could roll off.…”