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Nanocomposite coatings are of great interest as barrier coatings since synergy effects between matrix and additive properties can be achieved. This, however, requires favorable additive-matrix interactions to provide a strong interphase (interface region). In this work we elucidate the properties of two environmentally benign nanocomposite coatings based on a waterborne acrylate formulation with additives from renewable sources, i.e. either cellulose nanocrystals, CNC; or, alternatively, cellulose nanofibrils, CNF. We focus on the corrosion protective properties of these coatings and discuss the reason why the nanocomposite with CNC displays favorable corrosion protection properties whereas that with CNF does not. To this end we utilized scanning electron microscopy, water contact angle measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques to investigate the microstructure, surface wetting, interactions between cellulosic materials and matrix as well as corrosion protective properties of both composite coatings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray computed tomography (XCT) was utilized to visualize and quantify the 2D and 3D microstructure of acetylated southern yellow pine (pine) and maple, as well as furfurylated pine samples. The total porosity and the porosity of different cell types, as well as cell wall thickness and maximum opening of tracheid lumens were evaluated. The wetting properties (swelling and capillary uptake) were related to these microstructural characteristics. The data show significant changes in the wood structure for furfurylated pine sapwood samples, including a change in tracheid shape and filling of tracheids by furan polymer. In contrast, no such changes were noted for the acetylated pine samples at the high resolution of 0.8 μm. The XCT images obtained for the furfurylated maple samples demonstrated that all ray cells and some vessel elements were filled with furan polymer while the fibers largely remained unchanged. Furfurylation significantly decreased the total porosity of both the maple and pine samples. Furthermore, this was observed in both earlywood (EW) and latewood (LW) regions in the pine samples. In contrast, the total porosity of pine samples was hardly affected by acetylation. These findings are in line with wetting results demonstrating that furfurylation reduces both swelling and capillary uptake in contrast to acetylation which reduces mostly swelling. Furfurylation significantly increased the cell wall thickness of both the maple and pine samples, especially at higher levels of furfurylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrophobized silica nanoparticles of different sizes, from 16 to 500 nm, were used to impart roughness to a hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coating with the aim of obtaining superhydrophobic properties. The particle silanization process and the curing process of the PDMS coating were optimized to increase the contact angle (CA) of the particle containing coating. The evaluation of the coatings, by means of water CA measurements and scanning electron microscopy imaging, shows that superhydrophobicity in the adhesive rose state was achieved using combinations of two differently sized particles, with an excess of the small 16 nm ones. Superhydrophobicity in the lotus state was obtained when the filler concentration of 16 nm particles was 40 wt%, but under such conditions the coating was found to partially crack, which is detrimental in barrier applications. The preference for the rose wetting state can be explained by the round shape of the particles, which promotes the superhydrophobic rose wetting state over that of the superhydrophobic lotus state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrophilic nature of wood surfaces is a major cause for water uptake and subsequent biological degradation and dimensional changes. In the present paper, a thin transparent superhydrophobic layer on pine veneer surfaces has been created for controlling surface wettability and water repellency. This effect was achieved by means of the liquid flame spray (LFS) technique, in the course of which the nanoparticulate titanium dioxide (TiO2) was brought to the surface, followed by plasma polymerisation. Plasma polymerised perfluorohexane (PFH) or hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) were then deposited onto the LFS-treated wood surfaces. The same treatment systems were applied to silicon wafers so as to have welldefined reference surfaces. The dynamic wettability was studied by the multicycle Wilhelmy plate (mWP) method, resulting in advancing and receding contact angles as well as sorption behavior of the samples during repeated wetting cycles in water. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to characterise the topography and surface chemical compositions and to elucidate the question how the morphology of the nanoparticles and plasma affect the wetting behavior. A multi-scale roughness (micro-nano roughness) was found and this enhanced the forced wetting durability via a superhydrophobic effect on the surface, which was stable even after repeated wetting cycles. The hydrophobic effect of this approach was higher compared to that of plasma modified surfaces with their micro-scale modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wetting, dimensional stability and sorption properties of a range of modified wood samples obtained either by acetylation or furfurylation were compared with those of unmodified samples of the same wood species via a multicycle Wilhelmy plate method. Wettability measurements were performed with water and octane as the swelling and non-swelling liquids, respectively. It was found that acetylation reduces water uptake mainly by reducing the swelling. In comparison, furfurylation reduces both swelling and the void volume in the sample. To quantify the effect of the modification process of the wood properties, the parameters 'liquid up-take reduction' and the 'perimeter change reduction' were introduced, which were determined from multicycle Wilhelmy plate measurements. Compared with the acetylated wood, the furfurylated wood with a higher level of weight percent gain exhibited larger property changes on the surface and in terms of swelling and sorption properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multicycleWilhelmy plate method has been developed to investigatewetting properties, liquid sorption, and swelling of porous substratessuch as wood. The use of the method is exemplified by studies of woodveneers of Scots pine sapwood and heartwood, which were subjectedto repeated immersion and withdrawal in a swelling liquid (water)and in a nonswelling liquid (octane). The swelling liquid changesthe sample dimensions during measurements, in particular its perimeter.This, in turn, influences the force registered. A model based on alinear combination of the measured force and final change in sampleperimeter is suggested, and validated to elucidate the dynamic perimeterchange of wood veneer samples. We show that pine heartwood and pinesapwood differ in several respects in their interaction with water.Pine heartwood showed (i) lower liquid uptake, (ii) lower swelling,(iii) higher contact angle, and (iv) lower level of dissolution ofsurface active components (extractives) than pine sapwood. We concludethat the method is also suitable for studying wetting properties ofother porous and swellable materials. The wettability results weresupported by surface chemical analysis using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,showing higher extractives and lignin content on heartwood than onsapwood surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract Understanding the complex and dynamic nature of calcite surfaces under ambient conditions is important for optimizing industrial applications. It is essential to identify processes, their reversibility, and the relevant properties of CaCO 3 solid-liquid and solid-gas interfaces under different environmental conditions, such as at increased relative humidity (RH). This work elucidates changes in surface properties on freshly cleaved calcite (topography, wettability and surface forces) as a function of time (≤28 h) at controlled humidity (≤3–95 %RH) and temperature (25.5 °C), evaluated with atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle techniques. In the presence of humidity, the wettability decreased, liquid water capillary forces dominated over van der Waals forces, and surface domains, such as hillocks, height about 7.0 Å, and trenches, depth about −3.5 Å, appeared and grew primarily in lateral dimensions. Hillocks demonstrated lower adhesion and higher deformation in AFM experiments. We propose that the growing surface domains were formed by ion dissolution and diffusion followed by formation of hydrated salt of CaCO 3. Upon drying, the height of the hillocks decreased by about 50% suggesting their alteration into dehydrated or less hydrated CaCO 3. However, the process was not entirely reversible and crystallization of new domains continued at a reduced rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state and stability of supercooled water on (super)hydrophobic surfaces is crucial for low temperature applications and it will affect anti-icing and de-icing properties. Surface characteristics such as topography and chemistry are expected to affect wetting hysteresis during temperature cycling experiments, and also the freezing delay of supercooled water. We utilized stochastically rough wood surfaces that were further modified to render them hydrophobic or superhydrophobic. Liquid flame spraying (LFS) was utilized to create a multi-scale roughness by depositing titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The coating was subsequently made non-polar by applying a thin plasma polymer layer. As flat reference samples modified silica surfaces with similar chemistries were utilized. With these substrates we test the hypothesis that superhydrophobic surfaces also should retard ice formation. Wetting hysteresis was evaluated using contact angle measurements during a freeze–thaw cycle from room temperature to freezing occurrence at −7 °C, and then back to room temperature. Further, the delay in freezing of supercooled water droplets was studied at temperatures of −4 °C and −7 °C. The hysteresis in contact angle observed during a cooling–heating cycle is found to be small on flat hydrophobic surfaces. However, significant changes in contact angles during a cooling–heating cycle are observed on the rough surfaces, with a higher contact angle observed on cooling compared to during the subsequent heating. Condensation and subsequent frost formation at sub-zero temperatures induce the hysteresis. The freezing delay data show that the flat surface is more efficient in enhancing the freezing delay than the rougher surfaces, which can be rationalized considering heterogeneous nucleation theory. Thus, our data suggests that molecular flat surfaces, rather than rough superhydrophobic surfaces, are beneficial for retarding ice formation under conditions that allow condensation and frost formation to occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We used difference in surface roughness to make different superhydrophobic coatings. [•] The coatings all had the same surface chemistry. [•] We found the superhydrophobic wetting state to greatly affect corrosion protection. [•] The lotus state was found to be most efficient regarding corrosion protection. [•] Air layer immobilization provided by the lotus effect is retarding corrosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Interactions between and wetting behavior of structured hydrophobic surfaces using different concentrations of water/ethanol mixtures have been investigated. Silica surfaces consisting of pore arrays with different pore spacings and pore depths were made hydrophobic by silanization. Their static and dynamic contact angles were found to be independent of the pore depth while fewer pores on the surface, i.e. a closer resemblance to a flat surface, gave a lower contact angle. As expected, a higher amount of ethanol facilitated wetting on all the surfaces tested. Confocal Raman microscopy measurements proved both water and ethanol to penetrate into the pores. AFM colloidal probe force measurements clearly showed that formation of air cavitation was hindered between the hydrophobic surfaces in presence of ethanol, and an increase in ethanol concentration was followed by a smaller jump-in distance and a weaker adhesion force. On separation, an immediate jump-out of contact occurred. The measured forces were interpreted as being due to capillary condensation of ethanol between the surfaces giving rise to very unstable cavities immediately rupturing on surface separation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]