Ultradurable Superhydrophobic Natural Rubber-Based Elastomer Enabled by Modified Multiscale Leather Collagen Fibers

Superhydrophobicity is vital to natural rubber-based materials and can endow materials with intriguing features, such as self-cleaning. Normally, low surface energy and surfacial micro/nanostructure are the two premises of superhydrophobicity. However, the fragility of micro/nanostructures in natural rubber (NR) composite surfaces makes the maintenance of durable superhydrophobicity under external forces difficult. Thus, the application of NR composite elastomers is limited in industrial fields. In this work, a novel NR-based elastomer is prepared by uniquely dispersing perfluorooctytriethoxysilane-modified leather collagen fibers (M-LCF) with multiscale structures into rubber matrix. The as-prepared NR composite with 40% M-LCF content displays excellent superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 156 degrees, and the endowed superhydrophobicity is ultradurable and can be retained after 2000 cycles of mechanical abrasion under a pressure of 100 kPa. Moreover, the prepared material features superior self-cleaning performance and mechanical properties. The reported work may serve as a basic for fabricating materials with durable superhydrophobicity.