Development of Raspberry-like SiO2 nanoparticles for application in bio-inspired superhydrophobic coatings

• Grant number: 18/06456-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2018
• End date: May 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering - Nonmetallic Materials
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Antonio Pessan
• Grantee: Lucas Daniel Chiba de Castro
• Supervisor: André Rocha Studart
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Switzerland
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/20052-0 - Development of bioinspired superhydrophobic coatings via layer-by-layer deposition, BP.DR

Abstract

Nelumbo nucifera, usually known as Lotus flower, is undoubtedly a great source of inspiration for the development of water-repellent surfaces. Its uncommon superhydrophobic properties is laid on the perfect synergy between the two-level hierarchical roughness and low surface energy. Two-level hierarchical structures can be obtained by LbL assembly technique through the deposition of small particles on the top of large particles (raspberry morphology). However, since it requires multiple deposition steps, the LbL approach is very time consuming and might be a bottleneck on the preparation of commercial non-wetting surfaces. It is believed that the usage of pre-prepared raspberry-like SiO2 might dramatically improve the speed of the entire process once it enables the creation of hierarchical structures in a single deposition step. Therefore, the objective of this project is the preparation of raspberry-like SiO2 nanoparticles that will be employed in the development of superhydrophobic coatings. It is also intended to improve our skills in synthesis and morphological manipulation of inorganic nanoparticles through international cooperation with an experienced research group. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DEMIROERS, AHMET F.; POLONI, ERIK; CHIESA, MADDALENA; BARGARDI, FABIO L.; BINELLI, MARCO R.; WOIGK, WILHELM; DE CASTRO, LUCAS D. C.; KLEGER, NICOLE; COULTER, FERGAL B.; SICHER, ALBA; et al. Three-dimensional printing of photonic colloidal glasses into objects with isotropic structural color. NATURE COMMUNICATIONS, v. 13, n. 1, p. 9-pg., 2022-07-29. (15/20052-0, 20/02938-0, 18/06456-0)