Recent advances in polymer-based superhydrophobic coatings: preparation, properties, and applications

Over the last decade, superhydrophobic surfaces with their new functional and structural properties have attracted a lot of interest both in the scientific research environment and in the industrial environment because of their potential to be applied in several fields, including anticorrosion, water/oil separation, ice repellency, and above all self-cleaning. This review, which should be of interest to students, researchers, and also industries focused on the chemistry of coatings, has been made with the aim of citing, explaining, and comparing in detail the structural and functional properties, the formulation techniques, the advantages, and the inconveniences of the majority of materials most used until now, and on the other hand to meet all our needs to facilitate the choice of materials for the preparation of superhydrophobic coatings according to the desired properties. This review provides a detailed analysis of recent advances in the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces using polymeric coatings. In a significant way, the theoretical principles for the manufacturing of this type of surface have been explained, and the factors impacting the surface superhydrophobicity have been proposed. Also, an in-depth examination of the preparation approaches is categorized according to types of polymers such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyurethane (PU), epoxy, and other polymers. Finally, the applications and challenges related to the applicability of this type of coating in everyday life are highlighted.