A parametric study of the confined spraying distance, solution concentration, and spraying time for the spraying technique used to fabricate PS superhydrophobic surfaces

In this study, a parametric study was performed for the spraying technique used to fabricate polystyrene (PS) superhydrophobic surfaces. The spraying distance, the spraying time and the polymer concentration were selected as the parameters to be varied. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) was used for the solvent. First, a dissolved PS solution in THF was prepared. Then, the dissolved PS solution was sprayed onto the coverglass. The Nozzle size, working pressure, glove box temperature and humidity were fixed at 0.2 mm, 0.2 MPa, 23.15 +/- 0.83A degrees C and 54.13 +/- 1.46%, respectively. After that, the surface morphology of the sprayed surface and water contact angle (WCA) were assessed by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a contact angle meter. According to the spraying distance increased, the WCA was decreased in all three cases of the 1.5 vol% PS solution. However, the WCA was approximately 158A degrees regardless of the spraying time or distance in all three cases of 6.0 vol% PS solution. The amount of PS deposited per unit area was shown to be the key parameter in determining the hydrophobicity, as expected. However, the PS concentration and the spraying distance affected the hydrophobicity regardless of the amount of PS deposited. Additionally, using least-squares method of the Origin 8.1 program fitting procedures for the WCA results, a water-contact-angle map of the PS-sprayed specimen was generated within the experimental parameters.