Superhydrophilic Silica Coatings via a Sequential Dipping Process
A superhydrophilic silica coating was prepared using a sequential dipping process involving acid-catalyzed silica, base-catalyzed silica, and 3-(trihydroxysilyl)propanesulfonic acid. Acid-catalyzed and base-catalyzed silica particles with varying diameters were synthesized by hydrolyzing tetraethyl orthosilicate using HCl and NH<sub>3</sub>·H<sub>2</sub>O as catalysts, respectively. 3-(Trihydroxysilyl)propanesulfonic acid was obtained by oxidizing mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane with hydrogen peroxide under acidic conditions. The resulting silica coating exhibited exceptional superhydrophilicity, with a water static contact angle of 5.0°, and demonstrated underwater superoleophobicity, with a hexadecane underwater contact angle exceeding 140°. Surfaces coated with the superhydrophilic silica coatings showed excellent performances in oil-water separation, anti-protein adsorption, and anti-fogging applications.
Authors
- Abbas Ahmed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6115-6880)
- Anqi Liang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6574-5220)
- Luyi Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5419-1063)
- Junbao Xie
- Rongkun Jian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6143-4019)
- Fuchuan Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6487-3535)
- Nantian Chen
- Xiaoyan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2332-2523)
- Lin Qin
Institutions
- Fujian Normal University (CN)
- University of Connecticut (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Molecules
- Published
- 2025-04-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules30081857
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.66