Research Output
Short review: biowaste as a source of silica and Its application as a filler to fabricate the superhydrophobic silica-based coating
Influence of sodium chloride on recycled HDPE in superhydrophobic surface development
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Publication
Silica (SiO2) plays a major key ingredient in producing products such as toothpaste, ceramics, and paints, to name a few, as it acts as a stabilizing agent, filler and additive. Due to its excellent properties, the use of high-purity SiO2 in industrial applications is favourable. Unfortunately, high-purity SiO2 is expensive. Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (TEOS) is an example of a SiO2 precursor that is costly and harmful, yet frequently employed. This paper provides a short review of the advantages of biowaste materials as SiO2 precursors and their role as fillers in the fabrication of superhydrophobic coating. Researchers nowadays are attempting to lower the expense of employing high-purity SiO2 by extracting silica from biowaste using many methods such as acid leaching and alkali treatment as this option is highly sustainable. The growth of agricultural industries is exponential due to the increase in biowaste production. Therefore, this is one of the ways to utilize the use of biowaste in combatting the environmental issues regarding excess biowaste and receding pure resources. SiO2 from biowaste also can be utilized as filler and used to develop superhydrophobic coating, providing numerous potential applications.
Publication
Inspired by lotus leaf, superhydrophobic surfaces have emerged rapidly in recent years. It is due to its excellence ability in self-cleaning and corrosion protection, to name a few. In this research, a green superhydrophobic surface was constructed on the surface of recycled High-Density Polyethylene (rHDPE) by utilizing Sodium chloride (NaCl) as a water-soluble surface modifying agent. The treatment process is simple,and cost-efficient as it only used rHDPE and NaCl as the main materials with additional chemicals and at the same time leave no impact on the environment. Variation of NaCl grinding period influenced the value of CA by which 240 minutes grinded NaCl displayed highest CA of 161.4°. This may be attributed by the increase of surface roughness as the grinding time increase. Furthermore, the surface morphology, topography, and self-cleaning ability of superhydrophobic surafce were analyzed to further understand the surface characteristics. The anti-sticking and self-cleaning properties were successfully displayed by the superhydrophobic surface thus, showing its potential as an eco-friendly material.