Transparent PDMS Surfaces with Covalently Attached Lubricants for Enhanced Anti-adhesion Performance
- Author(s)
- Tanja Eder, Andreas Mautner, Yufeng Xu, Michael R. Reithofer, Alexander Bismarck, Jia Min Chin
- Abstract
Liquid-like surfaces featuring slippery, omniphobic, covalently attached liquids (SOCALs) reduce unwanted adhesion by providing a molecularly smooth and slippery surface arising from the high mobility of the liquid chains. Such SOCALs are commonly prepared on hard substrates, such as glass, wafers, or metal oxides, despite the importance of nonpolar elastomeric substrates, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in anti-fouling or nonstick applications. Compared to polar elastomers, hydrophobic PDMS elastomer activation and covalent functionalization are significantly more challenging, as PDMS tends to display fast hydrophobic recovery upon activation as well as superficial cracking. Through the extraction of excess PDMS oligomers and fine-tuning of plasma activation parameters, homogeneously functionalized PDMS with fluorinated polysiloxane brushes could be obtained while at the same time reducing crack formation. Polymer brush mobility was increased through the addition of a smaller molecular silane linker to exhibit enhanced dewetting properties and reduced substrate swelling compared to functionalizations featuring hydrocarbon functionalities. Linear polymer brushes were verified by thermogravimetric analysis. The optical properties of PDMS remained unaffected by the activation in high-frequency plasma but were impacted by low-frequency plasma. Drastic decreases in solid adhesion of not just complex contaminants but even ice could be shown in horizontal push tests, demonstrating the potential of SOCAL-functionalized PDMS surfaces for improved nonstick applications.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Functional Materials and Catalysis, Department of Materials Chemistry, Department of Inorganic Chemistry
- External organisation(s)
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Imperial College London
- Journal
- ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
- Volume
- 16
- Pages
- 10942-10952
- No. of pages
- 11
- ISSN
- 1944-8244
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c17110
- Publication date
- 02-2024
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 205019 Material sciences
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Materials Science
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/2e22f4dc-7114-4b65-90a3-22e2f1d2899f