Working With Ultra Dry Waterproof Coating

By Estelle Larsen


A lot of uses for certain products are in demand by most construction industries. Developments and researches are non stop in advancing the technology that we have today to be able to produce products and methods in providing to these demands. Although there are already existing innovations that can benefit not just these industries but also for others.

Artificial innovations that were taken from the natural environment are being produced to benefit these industries. Ultra Ever Dry Waterproof Coating is an example of these innovations where it makes surfaces deflect any liquid. This kind of technology is very useful when it comes to decreasing the drag on submarines and ships, and many other uses for construction, too.

Superhydrophobic surfaces can intensely deflect water which makes it really useful in cases where you need surfaces to stay dry and clean as well. As mentioned, this technology was taken from nature which is called the Lotus Effect. In theory, the contact angle of water droplets should be about one hundred and fifty degrees which is the basis for deflection with a roll off angle that is less ten degrees.

Thomas Young was able to figure out the makings of contact angles through what forces are acting on these droplets in 1805. These droplets are surrounded by air and solid which is the surface, then their intersection or contact with the droplet which gives out an angle of these three. It just means that the roundness of the droplet is proportional to the angle that they have, meaning it has lesser contact as well.

This technology is in a nano level where the surface would mimic this structure in order to produce this phenomena. The waterproof coating is spray on and can be sprayed on any material. It can either be funnels, cement or concrete, glass, clothes, etc. There are various uses of this from different types of industries.

It can deflect hydrocarbons as well which would make it oleophobic. It repels not just water, so it can deflect various types of fluids. Although mostly it is used for equipment in construction where they need to prevent wet cement or paint from sticking on the surfaces of funnels, and other tools.

Although the general limitation for this is when it comes into contact with bleach, detergent, or any mechanical solutions. This makes it ineffective out in the real world where ships and planes would benefit greatly from this. While in nature, the plants can regenerate their cuticles while the artificial one cannot.

This has been an issue for this product until a study was made which utilizes porous polymer layers that are made of polyelectrolyte complexes, which then becomes superhydrophobic by coating it with a layer of fluoroalkylsilane. The undercoat which is the polymer layers consists of other layers of poly allylamine hydrochloride and sulfonated PEEK. This then alternate with polyacrylic acid which makes up a thickness of three microns.

These would make the coating durable that even with damage, the superhydrophobic property would still work as long as these layers are on the surface. In their studies, this made a contact angle with fluids to about one sixty degrees. To make it convenient, it repairs itself by bleeding the fluoroalkylsilane through the damaged areas.




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