Abstract
A robust superamphiphobic sponge (SA-sponge) is proposed by using a single initiated chemical vapor deposition (i-CVD) process. Poly(3,3,4,4,5,5,6,6,7,7,8,8,9,9,10,10,10-heptadecafluorodecyl methacrylate) (PFDMA) is deposited on a commercial sponge by the polymerization of fluoroalkyl acrylates during the i-CVD process. This PFDMA is conformally coated onto both the exterior and interior of the sponge structure by a single step of the i-CVD process at nearly room temperature. Due to the inherent porous structure of the sponge and the hydrophobic property of the fluorine-based PFDMA, the demonstrated SA-sponge shows not only superhydrophobicity but also superoleophobicity. Furthermore, the fabricated SA-sponge is robust with regard to physical and chemical damage. The fabricated SA-sponge can be utilized for multi-purpose applications such as gas-permeable liquid separators.
Highlights
Wettability is one of the most important characteristics of the surface of a solid material
The polymer film deposited by initiated chemical vapor deposition (i-CVD) generally has high chemical purity with no residue because the deposition process is inherently free of solvents and additives
With the aid of the i-CVD process, the PFDMA was conformally coated onto the sponge structure with a single i-CVD step at nearly room temperature
Summary
Wettability is one of the most important characteristics of the surface of a solid material. Several complicated attempts to create a superamphiphobic surface have been reported[19,20,23,24,25,26,27] Such attempts are time-consuming owing to the multiple fabrication steps and require a vacuum process or a relatively high temperature process providing a limitation to the selection of the target substrate. The initiated chemical vapor deposition (i-CVD) process used as part of our fabrication method is an emerging one-step process with good versatility[33,34,35,36,37] It does not cause contamination or damage by solvents, and it allows a conformal coating of which the thickness is controllable. In this work, we demonstrate a superamphiphobic sponge which is robust to physical and chemical damage via the simple one-step i-CVD process, which is an all-dry vapor-phase process that does not require any solvents. This superamphiphobic sponge via i-CVD process can be potentially a promising candidates for commercial products, such as a gas-permeable liquid separator
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