Super-hydrophobic surfaces of layer-by-layer structured film-coated electrospun nanofibrous membranes

We have recently fabricated super-hydrophobic membrane surfaces based on the inspiration of self-cleaning silver ragwort leaves. This biomimetic super-hydrophobic surface was composed of fluoroalkylsilane (FAS)-modified layer-by-layer (LBL) structured film-coated electrospun nanofibrous membranes. The rough fibre surface caused by the electrostatic LBL coating of TiO ₂ nanoparticles and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) was used to imitate the rough surface of nanosized grooves along the silver ragwort leaf fibre axis. The results showed that the FAS modification was the key process for increasing the surface hydrophobicity of the fibrous membranes. Additionally, the dependence of the hydrophobicity of the membrane surfaces upon the number of LBL coating bilayers was affected by the membrane surface roughness. Moreover, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results further indicated that the surface of LBL film-coated fibres absorbed more fluoro groups than the fibre surface without the LBL coating. A (TiO₂/PAA)₁₀ film-coated cellulose acetate nanofibrous membrane with FAS surface modification showed the highest water contact angle of 162°and lowest water-roll angle of 2°.