Fabrication and Characterization of Superhydrophobic Layer of Low Density Polyethylene on Polypropylene Hollow Fiber Membrane

In this work, polypropylene (PP) hollow fiber membrane was coated with superhydrophobic layer of low density polyethylene (LDPE). Rough layer of LDPE deposited on PP resulted in the increasing of surface hydrophobicity. The surface structure of the pristine PP was observed to be significantly affecting the homogeneity of the generated LDPE layer. 20 mg.mL-1 LDPE concentration in the coating solution was required to obtain uniform surface coating on the PP surface, which is probably due to the presence of the large grooves on the surface of PP. Non-solvent mixture of 1:1 (v/v) acetone/ethanol was satisfied porous superhydrophobic layer of LDPE on the curved PP surface. The water contact angle of the modified surface obtained was 161±2.3o which is higher than the pristine surface.