Microscopic Rough Structure and Surface Energy Chemical Composition: The Dual Core Elements of Superwetting Materials

2025-03-31 13:57:21

Hierarchically rough-structured particles can be used to construct superwetting particle coatings. On the other hand, introducing functional materials onto particle surfaces primarily relies on modification techniques, which often involve expensive surface energy modifiers, complex operational procedures, and insufficient structural stability.

Hollow Polymer Microspheres as Microreactors
Hollow polymer microspheres, composed of sealed cavities and porous shells, serve as ideal microcontainers. Based on the principle of "like dissolves like," oily polymeric reactants can be infused into these cavities to form diverse polymerizable microdomains. Under controlled heating, the resulting copolymer can be extruded from these microdomains, generating nanoscale secondary protrusions on the shell surface. These micro-nano dual-scale all-polymer particles (MNDPs) inherently exhibit superwetting characteristics without requiring further modification or external functionalization.

Breakthrough by Xinjiang University’s Research Team
Recently, Prof. Chen Cheng’s group at Xinjiang University utilized hydrophilic hollow poly(styrene-divinylbenzene) [P(S-DVB)] microspheres as polymeric microcontainers. By infusing fluorinated monomers and initiators into the cavities to form microreaction units, they successfully fabricated MNDPs with tunable wettability. The resulting coatings demonstrated adjustable wetting properties and hot-water repellency by varying the fluorinated monomer types. This work, titled "Micro-Nano Dual-Scale All-Polymer Particles for Construction of Superwetting Surface with Controllable Wettability and Hot-Water-Repellency," was published in Chemical Engineering Journal.

Methodology
In this study, the authors adsorbed a reaction oil phase (comprising monomers, crosslinkers, fluorinated monomers, and initiators) into the hollow cavities of polymer microspheres under room-temperature stirring. Upon heating, the internal reactants polymerized, causing the core cavities and shell pores to overflow and generate numerous nanoscale copolymer surface protrusions. The physicochemical properties of the resulting MNDPs could be precisely controlled by adjusting the fluorinated monomer composition.

Applications

1. Superhydrophobic Textiles: MNDPs with short fluoroalkyl chains were used to create self-cleaning, antifouling fabrics.

2. Heat-Repellent Fabrics: Near-spherical fluorinated MNDPs constructed thermally resistant textiles, preventing penetration or diffusion of high-temperature liquid droplets.

Conclusion
This work demonstrates that MNDPs can engineer superwetting surfaces with programmable wettability by tailoring hierarchical structures and surface energy chemistry. The study systematically investigated their performance in superhydrophobic and heat-shielding textiles. Furthermore, the unique wetting mechanism of thermally resistant coatings highlights the scientific value and application potential of non-modified, particle-based architectures in multifunctional superwetting materials.