Carbon Nanotubes and Teflon Repel Hot Water


To fabricate hot water repellent fabrics, a nanocomposite of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) and Teflon was prepared and applied to commercial fabrics to produce scalding protection clothes. Current water repellent material only works well up to 25 °C. The new material was fairly effective for static water up to 80 °C and reduced effectiveness for dynamic water.

The repellency of the CNTs–Teflon treated fabrics to hot beverages (water, milk, coffee and tea, 50–80 °C) was studied. The spray test shows that although some superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit high repellency to static water they show reduced repellency to dynamic water.

‘further work would be needed to repeat these tests and verify the mechanism.’ Liu acknowledges that ‘the creation of superhydrophobic surfaces which can repel pressured hot liquids is still a great challenge to scientists.’