Translucent and superhydrophobic glass for self-cleaning and acid rain-restraining

• Published in: Materials chemistry and physics 2021-02, Vol.259, p.124049, Article 124049
• Main Authors: Liu, Pengfei, Bai, Xiuzhi, Xing, Weirong, Zhang, Yijun, Chen, Na, Zhang, Yuping, Qu, Lingbo, Ma, Jingyuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abrasion; Acid rain; Acid rain-restraining; Chemical damage; Cleaning; Contact angle; Hydrophobic surfaces; Hydrophobicity; Hydroxides; Layered double hydroxide; Raindrops; Sandpaper; Self-cleaning; Stearic acid; Submerging; Superhydrophobic glass; Surface energy; Surface roughness; Translucent; Ultraviolet radiation; Windshields
• ISSN: 0254-0584; 1879-3312
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matchemphys.2020.124049

Translucent and superhydrophobic glass surface was fabricated by a NH4F-assisted in-situ growth and post-modification process. Vertical and interconnected layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets were built on the glass surface to enhance surface roughness, and then modified with stearic acid (SA) to reduce the surface energy. The water contact angle (WCA) and water sliding angle (WSA) of the prepared glass was 167° and 2°, respectively, exhibiting the excellent water-repellency and self-cleaning ability. The transparency of the prepared glass was measured by UV–Vis spectrophotometer, and the transmittance in visible region was ranged from 68% to 77.8%. The prepared glass possessed outstanding ability to withstand physical and chemical damage, such as sandpaper abrasion, tape-peeling and acid/base immersion. In addition, the superhydrophobic glass had good environmental adaptability, which can resist UV irradiation and acid raindrop impact. Consequently, the obtained translucent and superhydrophobic glass can be applied in various fields, such as self-cleaning traffic indicators, wind screens, self-cleaning windows and dust-free solar panels. [Display omitted] •A translucent and superhydrophobic glass was prepared based LDHs and stearic acid.•The prepared glass exhibited excellent water-repellency and self-cleaning ability.•The prepared glass had outstanding mechanical robustness and chemical durability.•The prepared glass exhibited translucence and environment adaptability.