A Superhydrophobic Aerogel That Does Not Require Per-Fluoro Compounds or Contain any Fluorine

Summary: This invention is a method to produce a superhydrophobic/ultrahydrophobic material that does not contain per-fluoro compounds or fluorine. Like similar sol-gel based coatings that are water repellant this material is prepared in a way similar to film Aerogels; however the surface chemistry responsible for the inherent material roughness and super water repellency is comprised differently. This attribute makes the material less costly to produce and renders it safe for biological applications. Also by not utilizing fluoro-alkyl silanes and similar fluorinated reagents for its manufacture the material can be considered very environmentally friendly. Lastly this material has the ability to be applied using a variety of methods such as aerosol spraying dip-coating spin-coating or blade casting and it can be produced consistently with extremely low refractive indices as well as optical clarity. Among other things the staggering costs stemming from corrosion of steel infrastructure demonstrates a tremendous need to develop multifunctional coatings that can outperform traditional coatings. In recent years many different approaches have been tested for achieving corrosion resistant materials. Today’s most common two-layer-coating method can include a hydrophobic bottom layer and a hydrophobic or super-hydrophobic top layer used to prevent water and/or salt ions from penetrating through the surface. However most superhydrophobic coatings contain fluorine which can be environmentally unfriendly and may not be cost effective to manufacture. Thus there is a need to overcome these and other problems by providing a robust and inexpensive superhydrophobic coating that does not contain fluorine. Technology Applications: 1) Water repellency 2) Corrosion Prevention/Surface Protection 3) Anti-Microbial Coatings 4) Anti-icing 5) Fabric protection from liquids and stains 6) Defogging of display panels and lenses 7) Drag reduction in water environments