Creating Hydrophobic Foils From Biopolymer Blends Using Mechanical Microimprinting

Hang Liu; Michaela Zagler; Michael Nase; Katharina Weber; Joachim Albrecht

doi:10.1002/cphc.202300301

Creating Hydrophobic Foils From Biopolymer Blends Using Mechanical Microimprinting

Chemphyschem. 2023 Oct 17;24(20):e202300301. doi: 10.1002/cphc.202300301. Epub 2023 Aug 14.

Authors

Hang Liu¹, Michaela Zagler², Michael Nase², Katharina Weber¹, Joachim Albrecht¹

Affiliations

¹ Aalen University, Research Institute for Innovative Surfaces FINO, Beethovenstr. 1, 73430, Aalen, Germany.
² Hof University of Applied Sciences, Institute for Biopolymers and Sustainability ibp, Alfons-Goppel-Platz 1, 95028, Hof, Germany.

PMID: 37466122
DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202300301

Abstract

The surface topography of biodegradable polymer foils is modified by mechanical imprinting on a submillimeter length scale. The created patterns strongly influence the wetting behavior and allow the preparation of hydrophobic surfaces with controlled solid-liquid interaction. A detailed analysis of anisotropic surface patterns reveals that the observed effect arises from a combination of topographical and compositional changes that are introduced to the surface. As a main result it is found that an individual combination of material and structure is required for the production of water-repellent biopolymer foils that are highly attractive for packaging applications.

Keywords: anisotropic wettability; biopolymer; hydrophobic; microimprinting; tribology.