Synthesis of methyltrimethoxysilane/SiO₂as a hydrophobic material

SiO2 derived from silica rock as a composite with methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) has successfully been introduced as hydrophobic material. In this research work, MTMS/SiO2 composite was mixed with steel ship paint and coated on a steel surface prepared by dip-coating methods. SiO2 has been made from silica rock by extraction methods. The MTMS as SiO2 precursor was synthesized with the Stöber method. The element content, crystal structure, morphology of particles, and hydrophobicity of the composite coatings were measured by an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and water contact angle (WCA), respectively. The results of hydrophobicity properties studies show that the hydrophobicity of MTMS/SiO2 is higher than uncoated steel plate samples. The composite coatings exhibit good hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of more than 90°. The maximum WCA of MTMS/SiO2 modified coating was about 108°. These characterize that the addition of SiO2 can improve roughness surface and water contact angle which can make good hydrophobic properties, so the result can provide an informative reference to the fabrication of hydrophobic composites used SiO2.