Development of permanent superhydrophobic metallic meshes by using laser processing and deposition of polydimethylsiloxane

V zadnjih letih so superhidrofilne in superhidrofobne površine tema številnih raziskav, saj imajo ogromen potencial na številnih znanstvenih in industrijskih področjih. V okviru te zaključne naloge smo preverjali superhidrofobnost na nerjavnih in aluminijastih mrežicah, ki smo jo ustvarili s kombinacijo laserske obdelave površine in kemijskega naparjanja PDMS z različnimi viskoznostmi. Preko merjenja kota omočenja in pretoka vode skozi mrežice smo dokazali, da predstavljen postopek hidrofobizacije deluje, da viskoznost PDMS vpliva na nastali superhidrofobni film in, da je s spreminjanjem omočljivosti mrežice možno pretok vode skoznjo bodisi povečati bodisi povsem zaustaviti.In recent years, both superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic surfaces have undergone much research, as they have enormous potential in many scientific and industrial fields. As part of this final project, we tested superhydrophobicity on stainless and aluminium meshes, which was created by a combination of laser surface treatments and chemical vapor deposition of PDMS with different viscosities. By measuring the contact angle and water flow through the meshes, we proved that the presented hydrophobization process works, that the viscosity of PDMS affects the resulting superhydrophobic film and that by changing the wettability of the meshes it is possible to either increase or completely stop the water flow