| Anti-wetting surfaces and materials have the potential for dramatic performance improvements such as drag reduction on marine vehicles and fluid power systems as well as anti-fouling on aircraft and wind turbines. Although a wide variety of synthetic superhydrophobic surfaces have been developed and investigated, several critical obstacles remain before industrial application can be realized, including: (1) large surface area application, (2) multi-liquid anti-wetting, (3) environmentally friendly compositions, (4) mechanical durability and adhesion, and (5) long-term performance. In this dissertation, nanocomposite coatings have been investigated to generate high performance anti-wetting surfaces that address these obstacles which may enable application on wind turbine blades. Solution processable materials were used which self-assemble to create anti-wetting nanocomposite surfaces upon spray coating and curing. As a result, the first superoleophobic nanocomposite, the first environmentally friendly superhydrophobic compositions, and the first highly durable superhydrophobic nanocomposite coatings were created. Furthermore, the mechanisms leading to this improved performance were studied. |
