Biomimetic Hydrophobic Surfaces with Low or High Adhesion Based on Poly（vinyl alcohol） and SiO2 Nanoparticles

Superhydrophobic surfaces are often found in nature, such as plant leaves and insect wings. Inspired by superhydrophobic phenomenon of the rose petals and the lotus leaves, biomimetic hydrophnbic surfaces with high or low adhesion were prepared with a facile drop-coating approach in this paper. Poly（vinyl alcohol） （PVA） was used as adhesive and SiO2 nanoparticles were used to fabricate surface micro-structure. Stearic acid or dodecafluoroheptyl-propyl-trimethoxysilane （DFTMS） were used as low surface energy materials to modify the prepared PVA/SiO2 coating surfaces. The effects of size of SiO2 nanoparticles, concentration of SiO2 nanoparticle suspensions and the modifications on the wettability of the surface were investigated. The morphology of the PVA/SiO2 coating surfaces was observed by using scanning electron microscope. Water contact angle of the obtained superhydrophilic surface could reach to 3°. Stearic acid modified PVA/SiO2 coating surfaces showed hydrophobicity with high adhesion. By mixing the SiO2 nanoparticles with sizes of 40 nm and 200 nm and modifying with DFTMS, water contact angle of the obtained coating surface could be up to 155° and slide angle was only 5°. This work provides a facile and useful method to control surface wettability through changing the roughness and chemical composition of a surface.

The Role of Renewable Protocatechol Acid in Epoxy Coating Modification: Significantly Improved Antibacterial and Adhesive Properties

It is of great significance to design epoxy coatings with superior antibacterial properties and high adhesive properties, as well as excellent processing, superior durability, and high transparency. However, it is still a challenge because of the common complex design and synthesis. Herein, the bio-based monomer protocatechuic acid(PCA) was used as raw material, the catechol structure with high bonding and antibacterial properties was introduced into the flexible alkane segment of ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether(EGDE) through an efficient, and green method, and it was cured with isophorone diamine(IPDA) to prepare corresponding thermosets. The cured resins exhibited excellent allaround qualities, particularly in bonding and antibacterial. When 30% PCA was added to pure epoxy resin, the adhesion between substrate and coating increased from 4.40 MPa to 13.60 MPa and the antibacterial rate of coating against E. coli and S. aureus could approach 100%. All of this is due to the fact that the catechol structure present in PCA has the ability to interact with various substrates and alter the permeability of bacterial cell membranes. The architecture of this method offers a fresh approach to dealing with the issues of challenging raw material selection and complex synthesis techniques.