Preparation and performance of superhydrophobic surfaces with low surface energy modified attapulgite

Material modification with low surface energy can offer lower surface free energy on micro-and nano-rough structures, which is necessary for developing superhydrophobic surfaces. Based on experiment and molecular simulation, the composite systems of attapulgite (APT) modified by alkylamine, alkylammonium salt and stearic acid were prepared. Combine surface free energy, electrostatic potential distribution, self-diffusion coefficient, and interfacial formation energy to favor the superhydrophobic composite system, and the interaction between low surface materials and attapulgite was explained. The results demonstrate that the hydrophobicity of APT are clearly modified by alkyl amine, alkyl ammonium salt, and stearic acid, and that when the molecular number of low surface energy monomers increases, the surface free energy of the composites first decreases and then in-creases. At the ideal concentration, the contact angles of alkyl amine/APT and SA/APT composites are all greater than 150 degrees, and the antifouling performance is excellent. Finally, compounding technology was used to further optimize the superhydrophobic composite system. It was discovered that the hydrophobicity and antifouling properties of the composite system were superior to those of the monomer, and the octadecylamine/SA/APT composite system performed optimally at a contact angle of 167.54 degrees.