Water-Repellent Coating for Mobile Phone Microphones
A new water-repellent coating material has been developed. The coating is composed of low-molecular-weight polytetrafluoroethylene particles and anatase-type nanosized TiO2, fluoro-oil and a polyvinylidene fluoride binder. This material has been applied to the communication antenna in the snowy area in Japan because of its water-repellent and snow-sticking-free properties. The durability of this coating was improved by adding photocatalytic nano-sized TiO2 particles. The inclusion of TiO2 particles into the water-repellent coating inhibits surface contamination, which deteriorates the water-repellent property by the photocatalytic reaction of TiO2.
One of the main deteriorating factors of mobile phones is water sticking to the surface of the Electret Condenser Microphone (ECM), a vital part of the phone. When this problem is solved, the durability of mobile phones will be greatly improved. This current study applied the water-repellent coating to the ECM of a mobile phone.