A novel multinozzle electrospinning process for preparing superhydrophobic PS films with controllable...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Surface Engineering

Background:

• Developing superhydrophobic surfaces with sufficient mechanical integrity remains a significant challenge.
• Traditional methods often result in brittle superhydrophobic materials unsuitable for practical applications.
• Polystyrene (PS) is a versatile polymer for fabricating functional surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

• To engineer mechanically robust superhydrophobic polystyrene (PS) surfaces via electrospinning.
• To develop a novel strategy for homogeneous integration of different fiber morphologies.
• To investigate the structure-property relationships governing superhydrophobicity and mechanical strength.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multinozzle electrospinning setup with two nozzles in separate electrical fields.
• Combined bead-on-string fibers (from 4% PS solution) and micro-sized fibers (from 20% PS solution) in a single step.
• Investigated the effect of varying mass ratios of the two fiber types on surface properties.

Main Results:

• Achieved homogeneous mixing of distinct fiber structures, leading to superhydrophobic surfaces.
• Superhydrophobicity was attributed to bead-on-string fibers, with a contact angle (CA) up to 154.65°.
• Incorporation of micro-sized fibers enhanced tensile strength from 0.50 MPa to 1.22 MPa, while CA decreased to 145.94°.

Conclusions:

• The novel multinozzle electrospinning approach successfully produced mechanically robust superhydrophobic PS surfaces.
• A trade-off exists between superhydrophobicity and mechanical strength, controllable via fiber mass ratio.
• The developed materials show promise for practical applications requiring durable water-repellent properties.