Journal
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
Volume 515, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2020.145984
Keywords
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); Laser texturing; Wettability; Self-cleaning
Categories
Funding
- EU research project Bluehuman [EAPA_151/2016]
- Government of Spain [RTI2018-095490-J-I00, FPU16/05492]
- Xunta de Galicia [ED431C 2019/23, ED481D 2017/010, ED481B 2016/047-0, POS-A/2013/161]
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Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer showing excellent thermal and electrical insulation properties and a low coefficient of friction. Due to its large stability, and hydrophobic nature, the wettability of PTFE surfaces can be reduced to transform them into superhydrophobic. In this regard, laser texturinug is a fast, simple and versatile method to produce superhydrophobic PTFE surfaces in one-step, and over large areas. In this work, we used a CO2 laser to modify the surface of PTFE samples. We studied the effect of the processing parameters (laser power or irradiance, scanning speed, and spacing -overlapping- between scan lines) on the wettability of textured surfaces using water, mineral oil and ethanol/water solutions as test fluids. Laser-treated surfaces showed a hierarchical micro- and nanotopography with a cotton-like appearance. The higher roughness and large quantity of air pockets make these laser-treated surfaces superhydrophobic, and highly oleophobic. Furthermore, they remain unaltered after being in contact with strong alkali and acid solutions or after slight friction. The self-cleaning performance of these surfaces was also demonstrated. The present findings suggest that CO2 laser texturing of PTFE is suitable for the large-scale preparation of surfaces with low-wettability to different liquids.
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