Flame soot stably deposited on silicone coatings possess superhydrophobic surface

A flame soot deposited silicone coating was successfully prepared by butane flame along with a deposition process of flame soot. Field emission scanning electron microscopy equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to analyze the chemical compositions and structure of flame soot, showing that the surface is mainly composed of carbon nanoparticles being closely packed and forming tree branch-like network with micro-and nanoscale roughness. Meanwhile, the flame soot can stably deposit on the silicone coatings during the water-flow impact test. When the deposition time is 20 s, the silicone coating possesses a water contact angle of 168 +/- 2 degrees combining with a sliding angle less than 1 degrees, and a transmittance reduced less than 28% for wavelengths above 500 nm compared to glass substrate. The superhydrophobicity has a little increase with the extension of deposition time, but at the expense of transmittance. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.