Fabrication of multilevel superhydrophobic surfaces via maskless lithography

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master_Othman_Ahmed_2024.pdf (6.08 MB)

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Kemian tekniikan korkeakoulu | Master's thesis
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Date

2024-08-29

Department

Major/Subject

Functional Materials

Mcode

CHEM3025

Degree programme

Master's Programme in Chemical, Biochemical and Materials Engineering

Language

en

Pages

66+7

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Abstract

Surface modification is crucial in material science, significantly impacting industrial applications. Superhydrophobic surfaces (SHS) offer essential properties such as anticontamination, antisticking, and self-cleaning, making them highly desirable for various industrial and biological uses. Despite these advantages, SHS face challenges in durability and optical transparency. This thesis addresses these limitations by developing a novel design utilizing multilevel fabrication through maskless lithography. Herein, a new approach is presented that not only enhances superhydrophobicity but also provides durability and transparency. The transparent design achieved a contact angle (CA) of 155° without any additional superhydrophobic coating. Furthermore, when coated with NbN, the design demonstrated significant mechanical durability in abrasion tests, with only a minimal decrease in CA of approximately 3°. These findings surpass previous works by combining high CA with mechanical robustness and transparency. Additionally, the study investigated the influence of structural design on Superhydrophobic (SHB) properties, focusing on a three-layer configuration. Preliminary experiments revealed that this design effectively directed droplet movement to the center. The finding highlighting the potential of multilevel structures in controlling droplet dynamics and enhancing SHB properties. These results pave the way for future research in developing advanced SHS for practical applications, such as self-cleaning surfaces and advanced microfluidics.

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Supervisor

Franssila, Sami

Thesis advisor

Jokinen, Ville

Keywords

fabrication, multilevel, superhydrophobic surfaces, maskless lithography, mechanical durability and transparency, hard material coating and abrasion testing

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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-202409086256

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[dipl] Kemian tekniikan korkeakoulu / CHEM