Preparation of large-scale, durable, superhydrophobic PTFE films using rough glass templates

Large superhydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films, with good durability, were successfully prepared by a facile, low cost, environmentally friendly templating method, using a PTFE emulsion. For the first time, commercially available rough glass was employed as a reusable template. The results show that both the microstructure of the glass template and the concentration of the PTFE emulsion play important roles in the superhydrophobicity of the films. Commercially available, acid-etched, rough glass is found to be an ideal template for such films, the superhydrophobicity increasing with decreasing emulsion concentration. Abrasive wear testing shows that superhydrophobic PTFE film, prepared under an optimal concentration of 5wt% PTFE emulsion, has good abrasion resistance. Moreover, the results show that this method is suitable for the large-scale preparation of superhydrophobic PTFE films. Copyright (c) 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.