Method of making articles with super-hydrophobic and/or self-cleaning surfaces
AssigneeIntegran Technologies Inc.
InventorsJared J. Victor, Uwe Erb, Klaus Tomantschger, Nandakumar Nagarajan, Diana Facchini, Mioara Neacsu
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Abstract
Super-hydrophobic and self-cleaning articles produced by imprinting exposed surfaces with suitable fine-grained and/or amorphous metallic embossing dies to transfer a dual surface structure, including ultra-fine features less than or equal to 100 nm embedded in and overlaying a surface topography with macro-surface structures greater than or equal to 1 micron are disclosed.
Claims23
A method for manufacturing an article formed of a polymeric material and having at least one of a hydrophobic and a self-cleaning outer surface, the method for manufacturing comprising the steps of:
- (i) providing an embossing die having an exposed surface portion formed of a metallic material, the metallic material having at least one of a fine-grained microstructure with an average grain size between 2 and 5,000 nm and an amorphous microstructure, a smooth surface of the metallic material being inherently hydrophilic at room temperature, the smooth surface has a surface roughness less than or equal to 0.25 microns;
- (ii) incorporating surface structures into the exposed surface portion of the embossing die to define a textured surface portion of the embossing die, said textured surface portion rendering the inherently hydrophilic smooth surface of the metallic material at room temperature hydrophobic;
- and
- (iii) imprinting at least a portion of the outer surface of the polymeric material of the article directly with the textured surface portion of the embossing die.
A method for manufacturing an article formed of a polymeric material and having at least one of a hydrophobic and a self-cleaning outer surface, the method for manufacturing comprising the steps of:
- (i) providing an embossing die formed of a metallic material, the metallic material having at least one of a microstructure which is fine-grained with an average grain size between 2 and 5,000 nm and an amorphous microstructure;
- (ii) incorporating surface structures into at least an exposed metallic material surface portion of the embossing die to define a textured surface portion by first shot-peening the metallic material surface and followed by etching the metallic material surface, the textured surface portion rendering the at room temperature inherently hydrophilic surface of the smooth surface portion of the metallic material surface having a surface roughness (Ra) less than or equal to 0.25 microns at room temperature hydrophobic;
- and
- (iii) imprinting at least a portion of an outer surface of the polymeric material of the article directly with the textured metallic material surface portion of the embossing die.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.