Superhydrophobic property of epoxy resin coating modified with octadecylamine and SiO2 nanoparticles

Superhydrophobic coatings have been prepared in this work by spraying toluene solution with different ratios of grafted epoxy resin and hydrophobic silica nanoparticles. Characterization by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, water contact angle techniques indicates that grafting with octadecylamine can effectively improve the hydrophobic property of epoxy resin with WCAs as high as 101.6 ± 3.1°, and that addition of SiO2 nanoparticles makes the superhydrophobic coatings of SiO2/grafted epoxy resin feasible provided that the weight percentage of SiO2 is over 35%. Moreover, the nanocomposite coatings exhibit good abrasion resistance as verified by the abrasion tests. Finally, the superhydrophobic coating is utilized to fabricate a superhydrophobic stainless-steel mesh on which the oil/water separation can be achieved with high efficiency and low cost.