E-Thesis 560 views 111 downloads
Development of Green Low Surface Energy (Superhydrophobic) Material for Various Surfaces / CELINA DLOFO
Swansea University Author: CELINA DLOFO
Abstract
Superhydrophobic materials maintain air at the solid-liquid interface, when in contact with water and it can be defined as the tendency of a surface to repel water droplets. These surfaces possess high contact angles of at least 150°, low hysteresis contact angle <10o. Superhydrophobic surfaces h...
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Swansea
2022
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Master of Research |
| Degree name: | MSc by Research |
| Supervisor: | Alexander, Shirin ; Barron, Andrew |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa59816 |
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| Abstract: |
Superhydrophobic materials maintain air at the solid-liquid interface, when in contact with water and it can be defined as the tendency of a surface to repel water droplets. These surfaces possess high contact angles of at least 150°, low hysteresis contact angle <10o. Superhydrophobic surfaces have a wide range of application due to their self-cleaning, antifogging, anticorrosion, biomedical characteristics. A substantial body of research is based around the use of relatively expensive fluorocarbons and environmentally hazardous methods to obtain superhydrophobic surfaces. This study proposes an alternative method of fabricating superhydrophobic surfaces, through a cleaner and more cost-effective process which adopts highly branched hydrocarbon chains. To meet the objective of this study, superhydrophobic surfaces were fabricated, which make use of environmentally friendly, non-hazardous (i.e., when in contact with skin) as well as cost effective. We focus on the nanoparticles Al2O3 (13 nm) and SiO2 (10-20 nm), particularly on the impact of the nanoparticle sizes, properties, and shape. As a result of this alternative method, alumina (Al2O3) and silica (SiO2) nanoparticles were easily synthesized with the appropriate carboxylic acid and then spray coated unto different surfaces. After the fabrication process, a static contact angle of 153o were obtained for the functionalized Al2O3 (13 nm) nanoparticles with lanolin (1:5), showing low affinity with water and the droplet of water rolls off easily across the surface. |
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| Keywords: |
superhydrophobic, nanoparticles, contact angle |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |