A superhydrophobic high-density polyethylene (HDPE)/organoclay composite material with a water-static contact angle of ∼162◦ and low hysteresis (7◦) was prepared by a simple solution-intercalation technique. This onestep method consists of the insertion of organoclay, produced through cation exchange with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), in the polymer matrix at 120◦C in xylene. In this process, evaporation of the solvent and organoclay amount are key factors for the achievement of superhydrophobicity. We characterized composite material with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and contact angle measurements. |
