A novel superhydrophobic surface based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) was successfully fabricated where the etched aluminum foil was used as template. The etched aluminum template, consisted of countless micropores and step-like textures, was obtained by metallographic sandpaper sanding and the subsequent acid etching. The surface morphology and the hydrophobic properties of the molded TPV surface were researched by using field emission scanning electron microscope and contact angle meter, respectively. From the microstructure observation of the superhydrophobic LDPE/EPDM TPV surface, the step-like textures obtained via molding with etched aluminum foil template and a large number of fiber-like structures resulted from the plastic deformation of LDPE matrix could be found obviously. The obtained TPV surface exhibited remarkable superhydrophobicity, with a contact angle of 152.0°± 0.7°and a sliding angle of 3.1°± 0.8°. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) are representative nonpolar materials with low surface energy, and the dynamic vulcanizaed LDPE/EPDM blends could be a low-surface-energy TPV.
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| PreparationFirstly, the aluminum foil was cross-grinded mechanically by metallographic sandpaper, then cut into 5 × 5 cm 2 pieces, and cleaned ultrasonically with ethanol to remove the aluminum debris. After drying treatment, the cleaned aluminum foils were etched in the 5.4 wt.% HCl solution for 0 to 15 minutes at room temperature; subsequently, the etched aluminum foil templates were washed ultrasonically with distilled water to remove aluminum debris.Commercially available LDPE and EPDM, as described above, were used for the preparation of TPV. The concentrations for crosslinking the EPDM system were expressed in parts per hundred EPDM by weight (phr). The sulfur-containing accelerating system recipe for cross-linking the EPDM consisted of the following ingredients: 100 phr EPDM, 1.0 phr sulfur, 2.0 phr CZ, 1.0 phr TMTD, 5.0 phr ZnO, 1.5 phr stearic acid, and 2.0 phr antioxidant RD.LDPE/EPDM TPV was produced via a two-step mixing process. In the first step, the preblends containing EPDM and the cross-linking ingredients were compounded in a two-roll mill (X (S) K-160, ShanghaiQun Yi Rubber Machinery Co Ltd, China) at room temperature. The charging sequence was EPDM, CZ, ZnO, stearic acid, antioxidant RD, sulfur, and TMTD, respectively. After 3 minutes of mixing time, the preblends were removed from the mixer. In the second step, the TPV compounds were prepared by melt-mixing the EPDM preblend with LDPE using a Brabender PLE 331 Plasticorder (Brabender Gmbh, Germany). The mixer temperature was kept at 160°C with a constant rotor (cam type) speed of 80 r/min. The requisite quantities of LDPE resin was charged into the mixer and allowed to melt. After 3 minutes, the EPDM-b...