Induced Topography in Coatings made of Hybrids and Composites Silica/Polymer: Superhydrophobicity, Transparency and Mechanical Stability.

In this Thesis, a simple process for the preparation of transparent, mechanically stable

and superhydrophobic coatings, which is based on the surface modification of silica

particles with PDMS of different CL using two methods: physisorption and chemisorption (soft organosilicas) and their blend with two polymer matrices, PMMA and PDMS, has been developed. Likewise, superhydrophobic surfaces were achieved from hard organosilicas which have been prepared by using the same methods as for soft organosilicas, and by other strategies such as the synthesis and modification of colloidal silica in one pot or the texturization of the surface of the colloidal silica particles by combining micro hard organosilica particles with soft organosilica aggregates or using MTMS in one or two steps in order to obtain raspberry-like structures. These hard organosilicas have also been mixed with the same polymeric matrices to improve the mechanical stability of the coating. Finally, the versatility of the process followed for the preparation of superhydrophobic coatings from polymer and organosilicas has been demonstrated and varied applications, where the superhydrophobicity plays a fundamental role, have been developed.