Silicon rubber has been widely used
in the biomedical field due
to its excellent mechanical properties and physiological inertia.
However, the hydrophobic properties of silicon rubber surfaces limit
their further application. Therefore, constructing a silicon rubber
coating with hydrophilic and low-friction surface properties would
be highly significant. Existing methods to achieve such coatings,
including grafting polymer brushes and the deposition of hydrophilic
materials, suffer from several deficiencies such as complicated coating
processes and insufficient coating firmness. In this paper, we report
a hydrophilic polymer poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) coating
that can easily coat the surface of silicon rubber to provide low-friction
performance. Sample silicon rubber was treated with benzophenone and
hydroxyethyl methacrylate monomer solution in turn. The as-prepared
coating was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy, white light interference, and MFT-5000 wear test. The
results indicated that the PHEMA coating had excellent hydrophilic
properties (with a low contact angle of 9.39°) compared to uncoated
silicon rubber. As the concentration of glycerol in the monomer solution
was increased, the thickness and surface roughness of the as-prepared
coating gradually decreased. The coating was firmly adsorbed on the
substrate, and it had a zero-class bonding strength. In addition,
the as-prepared coating demonstrated good friction-reduced properties,
with the coefficient of friction being reduced by 98.0% compared with
the uncoated silicon rubber in simulated blood. In summary, a hydrophilic
and low-friction coating was successfully prepared using a simple
method, and the results reported herein provide valuable insight into
the surface design of similar soft materials.