Fabrication of Bionic Superhydrophobic Manganese Oxide/Polystyrene Nanocomposite Coating

A superhydrophobic manganese oxide/polystyrene (MnO2/PS) nanocomposite coating was fabricated by a facile spraying process. The mixture solution of MnO2/PS was poured into a spray gun, and then sprayed onto the copper substrate using 0.2 MPa nitrogen gas to construct superhydrophobic coating. The wettability of the composite coating was measured by sessile drop method. When the weight ratio of MnO2 to PS is 0.5:1, the maximum of contact angle (CA) (140 degrees) is obtained at drying temperature of 180 degrees C. As the content of MnO2 increases, the maximum of CA (155 degrees) is achieved at 100 degrees C. Surface morphologies and chemical composition were analyzed to understand the effect of the content of MnO2 nanorods and the drying temperature on CA. The results show that the wettability of the coating can be controlled by the content of MnO2 nanorods and the drying temperature. Using the proposed method, the thickness of the coating can be controlled by the spraying times. If damaged, the coating can be repaired just by spraying the mixture solution again.