Superhydrophobic surfaces are of high importance for generating self-cleaning surfaces that can also prevent corrosion, biofouling, fogging, and icing. Current superhydrophobic surfaces, often based on fluorinated compounds, pose environmental concerns, have high fabrication costs, and exhibit low stability. Herein, we design fluorine-free amino acid-based nanoparticles (SiO₂-Phe-Cbz NPs) to fabricate a superhydrophobic coating on elastomers that can be utilized in soft electroadhesive (EA) grippers. The synthesized SiO₂-Phe-Cbz NPs are spherical with a diameter of ∼100 nm. Importantly, the synthesized NPs are non-toxic to mammalian cells. The SiO₂-Phe-Cbz coating is achieved by spray-coating resulting in a water contact angle of ∼160° and a sliding angle of ∼1°. Notably, the SiO₂-Phe-Cbz superhydrophobic coating presents high stability and self-cleaning properties. Furthermore, the coating does not significantly alter the mechanical properties of the elastomers. When applied onto EA grippers, the SiO₂-Phe-Cbz coated grippers efficiently handle both dry and wet objects with a quick response, while uncoated EA grippers fail to release the objects in a short time after a voltage cutoff. This work provides a new fabrication method for fluorine-free superhydrophobic coatings by using amino acid as a building block, offering exciting prospects for advancements in superhydrophobic coatings in the application of soft grippers for soft robotics.

中文翻译：

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在软电胶粘剂上由氨基酸制成的无氟超疏水涂层


超疏水表面对于产生自清洁表面非常重要，这些表面还可以防止腐蚀、生物污垢、起雾和结冰。目前的超疏水表面通常基于氟化化合物，会带来环境问题，制造成本高，并且稳定性低。在此，我们设计了无氟氨基酸基纳米颗粒 （SiO 2-Phe-Cbz NPs），以在弹性体上制造可用于软电粘合 （EA） 夹具的超疏水涂层。合成的 SiO 2-Phe-Cbz NP 是直径为 ∼100 nm 的球形。重要的是，合成的 NPs 对哺乳动物细胞无毒。SiO 2-Phe-Cbz 涂层是通过喷涂实现的，因此水接触角为 ∼160°，滑动角为 ∼1°。值得注意的是，SiO 2-Phe-Cbz 超疏水涂层具有高稳定性和自清洁性能。此外，涂层不会显着改变弹性体的机械性能。当应用于 EA 夹持器时，SiO 2-Phe-Cbz 涂层夹持器可以快速响应有效地处理干燥和潮湿的物体，而无涂层的 EA 夹持器在电压切断后无法在短时间内释放物体。这项工作以氨基酸为构建单元，为无氟超疏水涂层提供了一种新的制备方法，为超疏水涂层在软机器人软抓手中的应用提供了令人兴奋的前景。