Preparation of hydrophobic epoxy resin coatings containing spherical microparticle arrays via a surface porous polystyrene film template-assisted negative moulding

At present, hydrophobic surfaces with simple polymer array structures such as hemispheres, columns, trapezoidal steps, or cones (with a small top and a large bottom) can be obtained by direct negative moulding. However, complex structures, such as spherical, with large upper and small lower structures, are difficult to be obtained by negative moulding at once. Here, a new preparation strategy for hydrophobic epoxy resin coatings containing spherical microparticle arrays was proposed, using a surface porous polystyrene (PS, solvent soluble) film template-assisted negative moulding. Firstly, the preparation process of surface porous polystyrene films by dry casting from a ternary PS/polyethylene glycol (PEG)-toluene mixture would be optimized in depth, such as the dissolution & dispersion method, humidity, total concentration of polymer, PEG molecular weight, and PS/PEG mass ratio. Secondly, the structures and the water contact angle of the subsequently obtained epoxy resin array coatings would be comparatively studied with those of surface porous PS films. This work will provide a simple, efficient, and inexpensive preparation route for epoxy resin coatings containing spherical microparticle arrays.