Spherical Comb Copolymer Micelles and their Application in the Construction of Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Abstract

A comb copolymer with a fluorinated FPAE main chain and narrowly dispersed PMS graft chains has been prepared. The micellization behavior of this copolymer in a methanol/acetone mixture was studied. DLS studies showed hydrodynamic diameters of the micelles between 50 and 80 nm, while the diameters of dry micelles were ≈40 nm in TEM images. Micelle films with an interesting porous composite structure of nanofibers bearing micelle particles on the surface have been prepared by double coating the micelle solution. Superhydrophobicity with a WCA of 165° and a sliding angle of 3° was observed. As comb copolymers can adjust their molecular weight and block length independently, materials with a high physical strength and controllable morphological structure can be obtained.magnified image

Preparation of superhydrophobic films based on the diblock copolymer P(TFEMA-r-Sty)-b-PCEMA

“…Two types of approach have been reported for the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces using nanoparticles derived from assembled copolymer micelles. One strategy involves the preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces based on the dip-or drop-casting, [50][51][52][53][54][55][56] or spray-coating, 57,58 of micellar solutions of block copolymers, 50,[52][53][54][55][56] comb copolymers, 51,58 or random copolymers 57 in selective solvents or mixtures of solvents with different selectivity. In this approach, the chemical composition and topography, which are the key factors controlling the wettability of the resulting surface, could be tuned by adjusting parameters such as the solvent properties, the humidity of the air, the solution concentration, the copolymer structure and composition, and the dimensions and shapes of the micelles.…”