Transparent superhydrophobic/translucent superamphiphobic coatings based on silica-fluoropolymer hybrid nanoparticles

This paper describes a simple approach to prepare a transparent superhydrophobic coating and a translucent superamphiphobic coating via spraying silica-fluoropolymer hybrid nanoparticles (SFNs) without any pre- or post-treatment of substrates; these nanoparticles create both microscale and nanoscale roughness, and fluoropolymer acts as a low surface energy binder. We also demonstrate the effects of varying the concentration of the SFN sol on the water and hexadecane repellency and on the transparency of the coated glass substrates. An increase in the concentration of the sol facilitates the transition between the superhydrophobic/transparent and superamphiphobic/translucent states. This transition results from an increase in the discontinuities in the three-phase (solid-liquid-gas) contact line and in the light scattering properties due to micropapillae tuned by varying the concentration of the sol. This versatile and controllable approach can be applied to a variety of substrates over large areas and may provide a wide range of applications for self-cleaning coatings of optoelectronics, liquid-repellent coatings, and microfluidic systems.