Enhanced Hydrofobicity of Polymers for Personal Protective Equipment Achieved by Chemical and Physical Modification

The article presents significant results in research on creating superhydrophobic properties of materials which can be used as an interesting material for use in self-cleaning polymer protective gloves and similar applications where the superhydrophobicity plays a significant role. In this work the influence of laser surface modification of MVQ silicone rubber was investigated. The research was conducted using a nanosecond-pulsed laser at 1060 nm wavelength. After a process of laser ablation, the surface condition was examined using a SEM microscope and infrared spectroscopy. During the tests, the contact angle was checked both before and after the laser modification of samples pre-geometrised in the process of their production. The test results presented in the paper indicate that the chemical and physical modifications contribute to the change in the MVQ silicone rubber contact angle. A significant increase (by more than 30°) in the contact angle to 138° was observed. It was confirmed that surface geometrisation is not the only factor contributing to an increase in the contact angle of the analyzed material; other factors include a change in laser texturing parameters, such as mean beam power, pulse duration, scanning speed and pulse repetition frequency.