Fabrication of self-recovering superhydrophobic Cu-CNTs composite coatings via co-electrodeposition: Wettability transition is due to spontaneous adsorption of airborne hydrocarbons

作者：Cai, Bin; Gui, Zhenzhen; Guo, Tao; Kang, Zhixin^*

来源：Colloid and Interface Science Communications, 2022, 46: 100524.

DOI：10.1016/j.colcom.2021.100524

• Electroplating
• Cu-CNTs composite coatings
• Micro-nano structure
• Superhydrophobicity
• Wettability transition
• Airborne hydrocarbon

A simple method was proposed to prepare conductive and superhydrophobic copper-carbon nanotubes (Cu-CNTs) composite coatings on ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers) substrate. In this work, we investigated the variation of wettability and chemical composition when the prepared coatings were stored in the air. The freshly prepared superhydrophilic Cu-CNTs composite coatings adsorbed the airborne hydrocarbons and switched to superhydrophobicity after being exposed in the air for two weeks. Meanwhile, the coatings prepared at 1 A dm(-2) presented good superhydrophobicity (water contact angle similar to 158.4 degrees, water roll-off angle similar to 5.3 degrees) and conductivity (0.126 Omega sq.(-1)). The superhydrophobicity of the coatings was attributed to the lamellar micro-nano structures and the spontaneous adsorption of low free energy airborne hydrocarbons. What is more, the coatings showed good droplets impact stability, self-cleaning performance, and self-recovering ability to resist damage in practical applications.

• 单位
  广州大学