Effect of TiO 2 Powder on the Surface Morphology of Micro/Nanoporous Structured Hydrophobic Fluoropolymer Based Composite Material

Abstract

The present work reports a simple and effective way to produce hydrophobic foams with polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and TiO 2 by using a phase separation technique. This method involved the phase separation during the deposition of PVDF from its DMF solution with nonsolvent water in the presence of TiO 2 . The surface morphology of hydrophobic surfaces was characterized by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The maximum water contact angle of 129° was observed. The results confirm that the surface texture of polymer composite exhibits mixture of microporous and nanoporous structure. The impact of TiO 2 on the wettability property of polymer composite has been studied. The proposed methodology might find applications in the preparation of hydrophobic surfaces for industrial applications.