Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Fabricating Superhydrophobic Polymeric Materials for Biomedical Applications
Published on: August 28, 2015
Superhydrophobic Polypropylene Surface via Migration of SiO2 Nanoparticles with Low Surface Energy
Shijun Long1,2,3, Yali Hu1, Xiangkun Dong1,3
1Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Materials for Light Industry, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan, 430068, P. R. China.
Abstract:
The modification of polypropylene (PP) to achieve increased hydrophobicity while maintaining structural integrity is an important yet challenging task. In this work, by introducing a hydrophobically modified inorganic filler (silica (SiO2) modified with perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (FOTS)), m-SiO2/PP composites are produced via melt blending, then pressing of composites into sheets with different substrates. Measurement of the contact angle gives that when pressed with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film substrate, the water contact angle of the composite with 20 wt.% m-SiO2 can reach 140°, which is 44% higher than that of pure PP (97°).By scanning electron microscopy and micro-infrared analysis, when the composites are pressed into sheets with PTFE substrates, m-SiO2 migrates to its pressed side. This is due to in PTFE, hydrogen atoms in the polyethylene structure are replaced by fluorine atoms, thereby forming a "fluorine generation" protective layer over the carbon-carbon skeleton. Hence, the fact that in PP composites with PTFE platens, fluorosilane chain-encapsulated PTFE sheets and m-SiO2 are attracted to each other due to the presence of very stable C─F bonds, which have a very low surface energy. This material has self-cleaning properties and is expected to be widely used for protection against dust and oil.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Cohesion
On a surface,...
Surface Tension, Capillary Action, and Viscosity
The various IMFs between identical molecules of a substance are examples of cohesive forces. The molecules within a liquid are surrounded by other molecules and are attracted equally in all directions by the cohesive forces within the liquid. However, the molecules on the surface of a liquid are attracted only by about one-half as many molecules. Because of the unbalanced molecular attractions on the surface molecules, liquids contract to form a shape that minimizes the number...
Colloidal precipitates
Surface Tension and Surface Energy
Consider a beaker filled with liquid. The bulk molecules in the liquid experience equal attractive forces on all sides with the surrounding molecules. However, the surface molecules experience a net attractive force downward due to the bulk molecules. The surface of the liquid behaves like a stretched membrane,...
Surface Tension
Surface Tension of Fluid
Surface tension varies with...

