Issue 12, 2012

Fabrication of raspberry SiO2/polystyrene particles and superhydrophobic particulate film with high adhesive force

Abstract

We report a facile and novel strategy on the fabrication of well-defined raspberry SiO2/polystyrene (SiO2/PS) particles via radiation miniemulsion polymerization. Starting from methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPS)-functionalized SiO2 particles (176 nm), raspberry SiO2/PS particles (257 nm) with a submicron SiO2 core decorated by nano-sized PS latex particles (58 nm) are obtained after γ-ray induced miniemulsion polymerization of styrene (St). It is found that MPS grafted density on the surface of submicron SiO2 particles, the weight ratio of St to SiO2 particles (WSt/o-SiO2), as well as the surfactant concentration will affect the morphology and wettability of the resultant SiO2/PS hybrid particles. When the well-defined raspberry SiO2/PS particles are deposited on a blank glass substrate, a dual-size roughness surface topology was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). This film has a static water contact angle as high as 151°. However, this film exhibits a large contact angle hysteresis (∼116°) and strong adhesion to water. Furthermore, this kind of superhydrophobic particulate film can be used as a “mechanical hand” for transportation of small water droplets without loss, thus it may have potential applications in industrial fields.

Graphical abstract: Fabrication of raspberry SiO2/polystyrene particles and superhydrophobic particulate film with high adhesive force

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
21 Oct 2011
Accepted
19 Jan 2012
First published
14 Feb 2012

J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 5784-5791

Fabrication of raspberry SiO2/polystyrene particles and superhydrophobic particulate film with high adhesive force

D. Xu, M. Wang, X. Ge, M. Hon-Wah Lam and X. Ge, J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 5784 DOI: 10.1039/C2JM15364E

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