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Updated: Oct 3, 2025

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
Flexible, Elastic, and Superhydrophobic/Superoleophilic Adhesive for Reusable and Durable Water/Oil Separation
Soo Min Lim1,2, Jaeil Ryu1,3, Eun-Ho Sohn1,3
1Interface Materials and Chemical Engineering Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT), 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, 34114, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
This study investigates a highly flexible/stretchable and mechanically durable superhydrophobic/superoleophilic coating for efficient oil/water separation and oil absorption. The coating is applied via a simple immersion process using a mixed solution of a biocompatible adhesive (ethyl cyanoacrylate, ECA), a highly stretchable polymer (polycaprolactone, PCL), and superhydrophobic/superoleophilic nanoparticles (fluorine-coated silica nanoparticles, F-SiO2 NPs) in a solvent, followed by solvent evaporation and ECA polymerization. Polymerized ECA (poly-ECA) in the coating material strongly adheres the F-SiO2 NPs to the substrate surface, while PCL bestows the rigid poly-ECA with high flexibility. A coated polyurethane sponge exhibits superhydrophobicity (water contact angle of >150°), while retaining robust mechanical stability and flexibility/elasticity. This provides an efficient means of cleaning oil spills with high selectivity, even after mechanical abrasion (>99% separation efficiency is retained after 120 tape test cycles and 50 rubbing test cycles), with excellent reusability.
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