New type of super waterproof oil and water material

Scientists have created a new material that can make non-stick dirt particles, graffity drawings impossible to exist on walls and shoes that keep the ball clean even on muddy roads. This new material is called "fluoropore".

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The drops of water and oil all roll out of this super-waterproof polymer coated with fluorine . The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has decided to sponsor to further develop this material in KIT with funding up to 2.85 million EUR. Basic research in this area is aimed at properties for the application of this new material to create universal protective coatings.

This phenomenon is observed from the lotus leaves as well as from the leaves of cabbage plants: water droplets falling on the leaves roll away. Sometimes this classic lotus leaf effect has been applied to the technique to produce rough surfaces with special chemical properties. "However, this property does not work with oil-repellent lotus leaves, but with oil it is not so," said Dr. Bastian Rapp of the Institute for Research on Microstructure Technology (KIT Institute of Microstructure Technology - IMT) said.

"The oil-repellent surface needs to have a different chemical structure, the Fluoropolymer (roughly translated as polymer polymer) is designed for this purpose," the scientist explained. Fluorine polymers are high-performance plastics with high heat resistance and chemical stability. Teflon, a non-stick material used for frying pans, is one of these.

"When combining the chemical properties of fluoropolymer with the roughness of the lotus leaf, we have created a waterproof surface for both water and oil," Rapp said. Rapp succeeded in producing super waterproof surfaces with 2.0 lotus leaf effects in the lab. However, in actual use these surfaces lack stability.

A big problem is the sensitivity of the non-stick surface to abrasion. So Rapp's goal is to develop a new layer of fluorine polymer, which on the material will water and oil roll away and that will lead to more practical applications. These polymers, called "fluoropore" , are for processing 2.0 lotus leaf effects on nearly every surface.

The research project of young KIT scientists has been successful in the NanoMatFutur competition for young scientists organized by BMBF. With "fluoropore" , comprehensive protective coatings against any kind of stains can be produced. An example is the car window glass coating to prevent condensation and freezing on the glass in winter. Another example is a micro-hole screen with a chemical structure that separates oil / water mixtures used as cooling lubricants in the processing industry.

In the young research group led by Rapp, engineers and researchers in organic chemistry, material chemistry and production technology work on the development of this new material."At the KIT for microstructure technology and the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility, we can use a variety of analyzes and structural methods for our research, such as scanning power microscopes. and scanning electron microscopes , " Dr. Rapp emphasized.