Michał Świdziński and Dariusz Jan Smoliński from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology at the Institute of Biology of the Nicolaus Copernicus University are coauthors of the article "Are Nanohedgehogs Thirsty? Toward New Superhydrophobic and Anti-Icing Carbon Nanohorn-Polymer Hybrid Surfaces ”in the prestigious Chemical Engineering Journal. Q1; IF 13.273; MNiSW 200 points. The article was written in cooperation with research groups from the Faculty of Chemistry of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Murdoch University in Australia, Technology University and University in Białystok, the Technology University in Gliwice, German Jordanian University in Jordan and Shinshu University in Nagano in Japan.
85% of the world’s polymers production is made up of thermoplastics, and among them, one can find: polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). In this study, these three polymers were applied for the first time as supports for superhydrophobic and anti-icing surfaces created using single walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNH). A facile method of thermal “feathering” was used and the obtained materials were deeply characterized using thermal (thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry) and microscopic (scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, confocal microscopy) methods as well as tribological and nanoindentation tests. The most perspective in practical applications are their hydrophobic properties and anti-icing applications.