New materials have been developed by scientists in the Energy Safety Research Institute (ESRI) at Swansea University which are nontoxic, economical and show promise to replace more expensive and hazardous materials used for waterproofing and antifouling/fogging.
The new class of nanomaterials with tunable wettability have important applications ranging from antifouling to water proofing surfaces. Materials made by scientists at Swansea University are inexpensive, nontoxic and can be applied to a variety of surfaces via spray- or spin-coating.
The spray coated nanomaterials provide both a texture to the surfaces, regardless of the substrate, and the chemical functionality that can alter the surface from superhydrophilic (water wetting) to superhydrophobic (water repelling) based on the choice of tailored functionality.