Modifying the surface properties of polymer films by utilizing polymer/inorganic nanocomposites

Polymer materials with optimized properties can be prepared when nanosized inorganic materials are added to a polymer matrix resulting in a nanocomposite. In this work, we report on the development of superhydrophobic and water repellent polymer nanocomposite coatings deposited on soft polyethylene, PE, substrates by utilizing nanoadditives of different geometries and sizes. The coating morphology and effective roughness were investigated with Scanning Electron Microscopy and profilometry, respectively, as a function of the nanoadditive content. In the case of PE substrates, the optical clarity of the original film was preserved following the nanocomposite coating as verified by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The surface properties of the films were investigated by contact angle measurements; the water contact angle depends strongly on both the polymer and the inorganic nanoadditive utilized for the coating as well as on its composition whereas the contact angle hysteresis was significantly affected by the presence of the inorganic nanoadditives.