Bio-inspired Superhydrophobic and Antimicrobial Materials for Functional Coatings

Nature has evolved a range of surfaces and interfaces which shows diverse wettabilities varying from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity to serve various functional needs. Inspired from nature we have developed antimicrobial surfaces using superhydrophobic materials. Antimicrobial surfaces are needed to prevent health, safety and reliability issues caused by microbial infestations. Low-cost precursor material i.e., fly ash have been used to developed superhydrophobic surfaces. To study the antimicrobial activity, the major component of fly ash i.e., Silica nanoparticles have been used and modified it with an antimicrobial agent TiO2. In addition, antibacterial and anti-adhesion property against bacteria have been studied for the coated surface.