Organosilicons
are prevalent for the development of nanostructures,
adhesives, fillers, and surface functionalization due to their ease
of operation, availability, and effective modification on various
surfaces. 3-(Trimethoxysilyl) propyl methacrylate (TMSPMA) is a widely
used commercial silane for designing hybrid polymers via radical polymerization
for a wide spectrum of applications. However, the chemical stability
and processibility of TMSPMA encounter burdens due to its susceptibility
to hydrolysis and aggregation, resulting in limiting its functionality
and implementations. In this work, methylacrylate silatrane (MAST)
was newly developed to bear a chemically stable tricyclic caged silatranyl
ring and a transannular N → Si dative bond for excellent stability,
processability, and progressive deposition. A complete, uniform, and
thin assembled adlayer of MAST on a silicon wafer was verified by
a contact angle goniometer, ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy,
X-ray photoelectron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.
The good homogeneity and molecular orientation of the MAST coatings
are attributed to controlled silanization on oxide surfaces and strong
intermolecular hydrogen bonds between internal urea groups. Moreover,
the zwitterionic monomer of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine
(MPC) was employed to copolymerize with MAST or TMSPMA to afford macromolecular
modifiers of p(MPC9-co-MAST1) and p(MPC9-co-TMSPMA1),
respectively, for surface modification and antifouling properties
on silicon substrates. p(MPC9-co-MAST1) well preserved the reactivity of the silatrane groups after
the polymerization process, whereas the hydrolysis of silane groups
of p(MPC9-co-TMSPMA1) obviously
occurred, giving rise to aggregation of polymer chains. Therefore,
the p(MPC9-co-MAST1) film on
surfaces exhibited superior wettability, grafting density, and antifouling
properties compared to p(MPC9-co-TMSPMA1). Accordingly, we envision the great potential of the MAST
building block for the development of functional hybrid polymers,
well-defined polymeric thin films, and nanomaterials.
