The superhydrophobic coating is a promising strategy
to avoid liquid
foods adhesion on the packages and thus significantly reduce their
waste and environmental pollution. However, food-grade superhydrophobic
coatings are yet limited, especially those with excellent performances.
Herein, we report the preparation of food-grade superhydrophobic coatings
by the combination of attapulgite (APT) natural nanorods, stearic
acid (STA), and hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate (HDP) adhesive. First,
a stock suspension was prepared by an esterification reaction between
APT and STA. Then, the edible HDP primer and the STA@APT suspension
were sequentially spray-coated onto substrates to form the HDP/STA@APT
superhydrophobic coatings. The influences of the STA and APT concentrations
on the wettability and morphology of the coatings were studied. Due
to the hierarchical structure and low surface energy of the coatings
assembled by APT and STA, the coatings show excellent static and dynamic
superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning performance. In addition, the
coatings exhibit good environmental stability and excellent antiadhesive
properties toward various liquid foods and are also applicable to
various frequently used food packing materials. Thus, we believe that
superhydrophobic coatings have a broad application prospect for food
packing.