An easy and effective method to prepare superhydrophobic inorganic/organic thin film and improve mechanical property

Publication date: Available online 23 February 2016
Source:Thin Solid Films
Author(s): Ya-Chen Chang, Cheng-Chung Lee, Sing-Rong Huang, Chien-Cheng Kuo, Hung-Sen Wei
An easy and effective method for fabricating a two layer structure of superhydrophobic inorganic/organic thin film with good mechanical property was developed by sol–gel process. The inorganic/organic thin film that is composed of SiO2 sol and polyvinyl butyral (PVB). The modified-SiO2 nanoparticles was effectively modified by methoxytrimethysilane and sprayed on an inorganic/organic (SiO2 +PVB)-coated polycarbonate substrate. The water contact angle of the superhydrophobic inorganic/organic (SiO2 +PVB) thin film was more than 150° and the average transmittance was 92.7% in the visible wavelength (400–700nm). According to ISO 2409 standard, the adhesion of the coated film was a quality of rank 1. The hardness was greater than 3H as performed by pencil hardness test. In addition, the superhydrophobic property was maintained after the thin film was treated by pressing wipe paper under a 500g weight and moving it parallel to the sample. The results demonstrate that the superhydrophobic inorganic/organic (SiO2 +PVB) thin film has properties of superhydrophobicity, good mechanical and optical properties.