Superhydrophobic surfaces: A promising strategy for addressing food industry challenges

Abstract

Due to the extremely low surface energy and unique structural properties, superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit exceptional water repellent, self-cleaning, anti-adhesion properties. These characteristics have led to their widespread application across various fields such as textiles, construction, and healthcare with notable success. The inherent properties of superhydrophobic surfaces make them promising candidates for addressing challenges like the control of microbial contamination on food surfaces, the separation of oil-contaminated wastewater in the food industry, and the reduction of residual liquid food on container surfaces. In recent years, researchers have shown significant interest in exploring the potential applications of superhydrophobic surfaces in food packaging, food machinery, oil-contaminated wastewater separation, and food freezing/refrigeration equipment. In order to facilitate researchers in the food field to systematically comprehend superhydrophobic surfaces and thoroughly consider their potential application and value in the realm of food, this paper initially presented the fundamental theory of superhydrophobic surfaces, elaborated on various fabrication methods along with their specific applications in the food field, and ultimately discussed the challenges encountered during practical application while proposing future prospects within the food industry.