Facile fabrication of an F-POSS polymer-based liquid-repellent Cu mesh with excellent durability and self-cleaning performance

Abstract

A facile method that combines alkali-assisted oxidation and –SH chelation with a click chemistry reaction was employed to create an F-POSS polymer surface (fluorinated octavinyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane polymer)-based Cu mesh (F-POSS-OM). The as-prepared F-POSS-OM surface displayed a cohering hierarchical nano-F-POSS polymer granule/micro-Cu(OH)₂ wire structure, which provided a re-entrant geometry needed for liquid-repellency and low liquid sliding angles (<15°). Moreover, the easy-prepared structure endows the F-POSS-OM with remarkable durability for mechanical and chemical damages, including wear abrasion, tape-peeling, 100 cm-height hammer impact, severe hand twisting, strong acid/base/salt solutions, and high temperatures. Importantly, F-POSS-OM still retained excellent self-cleaning performance even after being subjected to these damages.