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Self-cleaning materials, which are inspired and derived from natural phenomena, have gained significant scientific and commercial interest in the past decades as they are energy- and labor-saving and environmentally friendly. Several technologies are developed to obtain self-cleaning materials. The combination of superhydrophobic and photocatalytic properties enables the efficient removal of solid particles and organic contaminations, which could reduce or damage the superhydrophobicity. However, the fragility of the nanoscale roughness of the superhydrophobic surface limits its practical application. Here, a hierarchical structure approach combining micro- and nanoscale architectures is created to protect the nanoscale surface roughness from mechanical damage. Glass beads of 75 µm are partially embedded into a low-density polyethylene film. This composite surface is coated with silicone nanofilaments (SNFs) via the droplet-assisted growth and shaping approach, providing the nanoscale surface roughness as well as the support for the photocatalyst with enlarged surface area. TiO2 nanoparticles, which serve as the photocatalyst, are synthesized in situ on SNFs through a hydrothermal reaction. The self-cleaning effect is proved using wettability measurements for various liquids, degradation of organic contamination under UV light, and antibacterial tests. The enhanced mechanical durability of the hierarchical structure of the composite material is verified with an abrasion test.
Zhang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.