Sustainable Plant‐Based Water Repellent Coatings Using Hydrophobic Pine and Palm Pollen

ABSTRACT

The environmental concerns associated with plastic and fluorocarbon‐based materials have driven the search for sustainable options, particularly in the development of highly water‐repellent coatings. Plant‐based materials offer a promising solution due to their biodegradability and sustainability. In this study, we developed highly water‐repellent coatings using treated pine and palm pollen. Superhydrophobicity was achieved by integrating a hydrophobic plant‐based wax with a micro‐scale rough structure formed by the pollen. To enhance their surface chemistry, the two pollen species underwent acid treatment, which effectively removed proteins and altered the wettability of the sporopollenin‐based structures. The modified pollen was then combined with two plant‐based waxes, carnauba and soybean, to fabricate the final coatings. The resulting surfaces demonstrated remarkable water repellence, achieving the highest water contact angles of ∼158° and sliding angles of <6° with the pine pollen/carnauba wax formulations. In contrast, the palm pollen/carnauba wax formulations achieved the highest water contact angle of ∼151° and sliding angle of 13°. Furthermore, this study investigates the influence of both broken and unbroken pollen structures on coating performance. These results demonstrate the potential of plant‐derived materials as environmentally friendly alternatives for water‐repellent coating applications.