Superhydrophobic polyethylcyanoacrylate coatings. Contact area with water measured by Raman spectral images, contact angle and Cassie–Baxter model

Apolar fibers wired into a mesh-like microstructure forming a coating with a contact angle larger than 160° and fabricated by polycyanoacrylate polymerization are described. Interconnected fibers with diameters measuring approximately 5 μm are formed by texturized linear or folded nanowires. The structure forming the deposited film occupies ∼1.5% of the coating’s top geometric area. This value agrees with the water/coating contact area given by the Cassie–Baxter contact-angle model (∼1.5%). The spatial distribution of the surface in contact with water was determined by Raman spectral imaging (∼1.5%) using the polycyanoacrylate lines and by scanning electron microscopy (∼2.0%).

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (82 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Folded cyanoacrylate rings forming knots that contact water. ► Confocal Raman microscopy images of the water/film contact area. ► Apolar nanosized cylinders wired into mesh-like microstructures of polymerized cyanoacrylate. ► Raman spectral images mapping film surface in contact with water. ► Measured contact area in agreement with Cassie–Baxter contact angle model.