The Abrasion Behavior and Mechanisms of a Superhydrophobic Surface Comprising Styrene Butadiene Rubber

The microprotuberances of superhydrophobic surfaces are easily destroyed during a friction cycle, resulting in invalidation of superhydrophobicity, because they are then loaded with pressure and shearing stress. Thus, the abrasion-resistance of superhydrophobic surfaces is the main barrier preventing their wide application. Elastic microprotuberances will be compressed and collapsed by elastic deformation to avoid being broken during a friction cycle, and the deformation will rebound to renew the original surface structure when the load is withdrawn. A superhydrophobic surface comprising styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) was fabricated via template replication in the research described here, with a water contact angle up to 160°. Friction testing was then used to characterize the abrasion resistance of the surface; the contact angle remained more than 139° even after being loaded with 4.4 KPa or 6.87 KPa and rubbed by a smooth metal surface at 18 cm/s for 10,000 times. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the change of morphology before and after the friction testing and to explain the abrasion mechanism.