Superhydrophobic nanocoatings prepared by a novel vacuum cold spray process

A superhydrophobic TiO2-oleic acid (OA) nanocomposite coating was fabricated by a novel vacuum cold spray (VCS) process at room temperature. The content of OA immobilized on TiO2 nanoparticles could influence the deposition effect during the VCS process, in turn controlling the wettability of nanocoatings acquired. The wettability of the nanocoatings could be adjusted by altering the content of OA in the starting nanocomposite powder. The maximum static water contact angle and the minimum sliding angle were obtained at 151.2°and 1.2°, respectively, with the molar ratio of OA to TiO2 at 1:10. Additionally, it was observed that the newly constructed superhydrophobic coatings display mechanical durability. This study presents a promising approach for fabricating inorganic-organic nanocomposite superhydrophobic coatings for long-term functional applications.