The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Colloidal assembly offers a versatile route to functional surfaces, yet scalable implementation remains challenging. This study presents a disordered colloidal assembly strategy for self-cleaning, superhydrophobic, and waterproof surfaces. Functional nanoparticles designed for extreme water repellency are applied through scalable solution-based coating processes, enabling large-area fabrication without post-treatment. The resulting coatings form disordered colloidal layers that exhibit self-cleaning and waterproof performance on a wide range of substrates, including solid surfaces, paper and textile fibers. Owing to their substrate-independent applicability and manufacturing scalability, this platform is being extended to applications such as building-integrated photovoltaics, waterproof textiles for defense garments, unmanned aerial systems, and fully waterproof fabrics. This work highlights disordered colloidal assembly as a practical manufacturing route for extreme wetting control.