Review on Liquid Flame Spray in paper converting: Multifunctional superhydrophobic nanoparticle coatings

Wettability of a solid surface by a liquid plays an important role in several phenomena and applications, for example in adhesion, printing, and coating. Especially, wetting of rough surfaces has attracted a considerable scientific interest in recent decades. Superhydrophobic surfaces, which possess extraordinary water repellency properties due to their low surface energy chemistry and specific nano- and microscale roughness, are of particular interest due to the great variety of potential applications ranging from self-cleaning surfaces to microfluidic devices. Here we examine functional superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic nanoparticle coatings fabricated by liquid flame spray (LFS) on cellulose-based substrate materials. The article is a review of earlier papers with some new results and conclusions added. LFS has proved itself straightforward and versatile one-step method to fabricate broad range of functional nanoparticle coatings on various substrate materials in an atmospheric roll-to-roll process. It has established itself among the most potential candidates for large-scale production of superhydrophobic coatings on affordable cellulose-based substrates.