Dental archwires frequently used in nowadays orthodontics may accumulate food debris leading to overgrowth of bacteria and subsequently result in dental caries. A super-hydrophobic surface of such dental appliances is believed to reduce these risks. Unfortunately, those super-hydrophobic surfaces based on the micro/nano morphology recently prepared by various routes are unsatisfactory in mechanical durability.
A super-hydrophobic coating on AISI 304 stainless steel was prepared, and the mechanical durability was performed by using a modified steel wool wear test in the artificial saliva solution in this study. The developed two-stage hybrid process involving grid blasting and plasma polymerization has let AISI 304 stainless steel to become super-hydrophobic. The results of modified steel wool wear test using toothbrush, peanut and nougat, respectively as the counter materials were reported. Water contact angle and surface morphology after test were examined to reveal the durability of the coated stainless steel.