• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.363-363
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• 2010

The high capillarity of a plastic fiber network having superhydrophilic Si-DLC coating is studied. Although the superhydrophilic surface maximize wetting ability on the flat surface, there remains a requirement for the more wettable surface for various applications such as air-filters or liquid-filters. In this research, the PET non-woven fabric surface was realized by superhydrophilic coating. PTE non-woven fabric network was chosen due to its micro-pore structure, cheap price, and productivity. Superhydrophobic fiber network was prepared with a coating of oxgyen plasma treated Si-DLC films using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). We first fabricated superhydrophilic fabric structure by using a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabric (NWF) coated with a nanostructured films of the Si-incorporated diamond-like carbon (Si-DLC) followed by the plasma dry etching with oxygen. The Si-DLC with oxygen plasma etching becomes a superhydrophilic and the Si-DLC coating have several advantages of easy coating procedure at room temperature, strong mechanical performance, and long-lasting property in superhydrophilicity. It was found that the superhydrophobic fiber network shows better wicking ability through micro-pores and enables water to have much faster spreading speed than merely superhydrophilic surface. Here, capillarity on superhydrophilic fabric structure is investigated from the spreading pattern of water flowing on the vertical surface in a gravitational field. As water flows on vertical flat solid surface always fall down in gravitational direction (i.e. gravity dominant flow), while water flows on vertical superhydrophilic fabric surface showed the capillary dominant spreading.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.218-218
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• 2013

We report a simple and cost-effective method to fabricate transparent superhydrophobic surface on various substrates. The surface was fabricated by coating hydrophobic PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) film on the silica nanoparticle and subsequent fixing of the hydrophobic silica nanoparticles onto substrates. The water contact angle for the prepared surface was determined to be over $150^{\circ}$, whichindicates that the surface is highly repellent to water. The hierarchical structure and roughness of the surface were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Additionally, transparency of the prepared surface was measured with UV-VIS spectrometer. The transmittance of the superhydrophobic surface was ~80%, which is lower than that without PDMS-coated silica by only 5 to 10%. It is also notable that the superhydrophobic surface fully recovers its original transmittance after self-cleaning process. Also the PDMS coating is stable under a wide range of pH conditions, UV radiation and salinity conditions, which is essential for the practical use. Moreover, our fabrication method is applicable in large scale production.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.496-496
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• 2011

A very simple and cost-effective method for fabrication of SiOx-incorporated diamond-like carbon (DLC) thin films at a preparation temperature of less than $200^{\circ}C$ was developed. Since DLC coating can be prepared not under vacuum but atmospheric conditions without any carrier gas flow, not only wafers but also powderic substrates can be used for DLC coating. Formation of DLC coating could result in appearance of superhydrophobic behaviors, which was sustained in a wide range of pH (1~14). DLC-coated surfaces selectively interacted with toluene in a toluene/water mixture. These results imply that our preparation method of the DLC coating can be useful in many application fields such as creating self-cleaning surfaces, and water and air purification filters.

• Applied Science and Convergence Technology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.219-223
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• 2015

Enhancement of the surface hydrophobicity of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thin films deposited on substrates covered with titanium dioxide ($TiO_2$) nanospheres was studied. First, a low-temperature solution-phase method using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a surface capping agent and a water/dimethylformamide (DMF) mixture as the reaction medium was used to synthesize monodisperse $TiO_2$ nanospheres. It was possible to easily control hydrolysis rate of the Ti-precursors and the size of the synthesized nanospheres by varying the amount of PVP and the volume ratio of the solvent mixture. Spray coating of the synthesized $TiO_2$ nanospheres under the PDMS film increased the water contact angle of the film surface to $150.3^{\circ}$. This simple treatment can modify the surface morphology at a nanometer scale without any long or complicated nanoprocess; hence, the surface enters the superhydrophobic Cassie-Baxter regime.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.416-420
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• 2012

Recently nanoscience and nanotechnology have been studied intensively, and many plants, insects, and animals in nature have been found to have nanostructures in their bodies. Among them, lotus leaves have a unique nanostructure and microstructure in combination and show superhydrophobicity and a self-cleaning function to wipe and clean impurities on their surfaces. Coating films with combined nanostructures and microstructures resembling those of lotus leaves may also have superhydrophobicity and self-cleaning functions; as a result, they could be used in various applications, such as in outfits, tents, building walls, or exterior surfaces of transportation vehicles like cars, ships, or airplanes. In this study, coating films were prepared by dip coating method using polypropylene polymers dissolved in a mixture of solvent, xylene and non-solvent, methylethylketon, and ethanol. Additionally, attempts were made to prepare nanostructures on top of microstructures by coating with the same coating solution with an addition of carbon nanotubes, or by applying a carbon nanotube over-coat on polymer coating films. Coating films prepared without carbon nanotubes were found to have superhydrophobicity, with a water contact angle of $152^{\circ}$ and sliding angle less than $2^{\circ}$. Coating films prepared with carbon nanotubes were also found to have a similar degree of superhydrophobicity, with a water contact angle of 150 degrees and a sliding angle of 3 degrees.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.224-224
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• 2012

For decades, carbon fiber has expanded their application fields from reinforced composites to energy storage and transfer technologies such as electrodes for super-capacitors and lithium ion batteries and gas diffusion layers for proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Especially in fuel cell, water repellency of gas diffusion layer has become very important property for preventing flooding which is induced by condensed water could damage the fuel cell performance. In this work, we fabricated superhydrophobic network of carbon fiber with high aspect ratio hair-like nanostructure by preferential oxygen plasma etching. Superhydrophobic carbon fiber surfaces were achieved by hydrophobic material coating with a siloxane-based hydrocarbon film, which increased the water contact angle from $147^{\circ}$ to $163^{\circ}$ and decreased the contact angle hysteresis from $71^{\circ}$ to below $5^{\circ}$, sufficient to cause droplet roll-off from the surface in millimeter scale water droplet deposition test. Also, we have explored that the condensation behavior (nucleation and growth) of water droplet on the superhydrophobic carbon fiber were significantly retarded due to the high-aspect-ratio nanostructures under super-saturated vapor conditions. It is implied that superhydrophobic carbon fiber can provide a passage for vapor or gas flow in wet environments such as a gas diffusion layer requiring the effective water removal in the operation of proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Moreover, such nanostructuring of carbon-based materials can be extended to carbon fiber, carbon black or carbon films for applications as a cathode in lithium batteries or carbon fiber composites.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.399-407
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• 2023

This study investigated the formation of oxide films on 6061 aluminum (Al) alloy and their impacts on corrosion resistance efficiency by regulating anodization voltage. Despite advantageous properties inherent to Al alloys, their susceptibility to corrosion remains a significant limitation. Thus, enhancing corrosion resistance through developing protective oxide films on alloy surfaces is paramount. The first anodization was performed for 6 h with an applied voltage of 30, 50, or 70 V on the 6061 Al alloy. The second anodization was performed for 0.5 h by applying 40 V after removing the existing oxide film. Resulting oxide film's shape and roughness were analyzed using field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Wettability and corrosion resistance were compared before and after a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) using an FDTS (1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane) solution. As the first anodization voltage increased, the final oxide film's thickness and pore diameter also increased, resulting in higher surface roughness. Consequently, all samples exhibited superhydrophilic behavior before coating. However, contact angle after coating increased as the first anodization voltage increased. Notably, the sample anodized at 70 V with superhydrophobic characteristics after coating demonstrated the highest corrosion resistance performance.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05a
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• pp.409-414
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• 2007

Wettability of solid surfaces with liquids is governed by the chemical properties and the microstructure of the surfaces. We report on the preparation of liquid-repellent surfaces using surface-attached monolayers of perfluorinated polymer molecules on porous silica substrates. A covalent attachment of the polymer molecules to the substrate is achieved by generation of the polymer chains through starting a surface-initiated radical-chain polymerization of a fluorinated monomer. To this, self-assembled monolayers of azo initiators are attached to silica substrates, which are used to kick off the polymerization reaction in situ. The growth of the fluorinated polymer films and the characterization of the obtained surfaces by surface plasmon spectroscopy, XPS, and contact angle measurements is described. It is shown that perfluorinated polymer films can be grown with controlled thicknesses on flat and even on porous silica surfaces, essentially without changing the surface roughness. The combination of the low surface energy coating and the surface porosity allows generation of materials which are both water and oil repellent.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.277-281
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• 2009

Superhydrophobic $SiO_2$ thin films were successfully fabricated on a glass substrate by sol-gel method. To fabricate $SiO_2$ thin film with a high roughness, $SiO_2$ nano particles were added into tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) solution. The prepared $SiO_2$ thin film without an addition of $SiO_2$ nano particles showed a very flat surface with ca. 1.27 nm of root mean square (RMS) roughness. Otherwise, the $SiO_2$ thin films fabricated by using coating solutions added $SiO_2$ nano particles of 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 wt% showed a RMS roughness of ca. 44.10 nm, ca. 69.58 nm, ca. 80.66 nm, respectively. To modify the surfaces of $SiO_2$ thin films to hydrophobic surface, a hydrophobic treatment was carried out using a fluoroalkyltrimethoxysilane (FAS). The $SiO_2$ thin films with a high rough surface were changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic surface after the FAS treatment. Especially, the prepared $SiO_2$ thin film with a RMS roughness of 80.66 nm showed a water contact angle of $163^{\circ}$.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.598-601
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• 2014

The effects of process parameters for the formation of polypropylene film such as the polypropylene concentration in the solution, drying temperature for coating film, and variation of nano-silica content on the surface structure and property of polypropylene film have been studied. A super-hydrophobic polypropylene film with a maximum contact angle of $154^{\circ}$ was obtained at the condition of a polypropylene concentration of 30 mg/mL, a drying temperature of $30^{\circ}C$, a drying pressure of 93 mtorr for 90 min. The increase of a drying temperature reduced the contact angle by enhancing the surface smoothness of the film. The increase of nano-silica content in the composite film composed of polypropylene and silica changed the surface shape from microporous to microglobular, which led to increasing the contact angle and showed the super-hydrophobic surface property.