Researchers from Texas A&M University have developed new nanomaterial with superhydrophobic properties. Their recent publication demonstrates that by controlling atomic-scale defects in their nanomaterial, they could use it to repel water and blood on glass, paper, and other common materials. This exciting development can lead to self-cleaning biosensors and anti-fouling surfaces.
Various self-cleaning materials have been developed, but these require their surface chemistry or topography to be modified, which is not amenable to various materials. The new approach can be applied to various substrates, including glass, paper, rubber, or silica, using a solvent evaporation technique.
The researchers begin with a 2D hexagonal lattice of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), create atomic-scale defects, and then coat the nanomaterial on various substrates using solvent evaporation. Their study demonstrated their technique can make paper, rubber, and glass all repel water. In addition, they performed a cell-culture experiment, and demonstrated that cells and proteins could not adhere to the surface, which is promising for biomedical applications.
Here’s a demonstration of the superhydrophobic coating:
Via: Texas A&M University
The study in Chemical Communications: Superhydrophobic states of 2D nanomaterials controlled by atomic defects can modulate cell adhesion