Facile preparation of superhydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces via the combination of Cu(0)‐mediated reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization and click chemistry

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe fabrication of novel hydrophobic, superhydrophobic, and oleophobic surfaces on glass using nanosilica particles modified with polymer brushes prepared via surface initiated Cu(0)‐mediated reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization was demonstrated. Monomers including n‐butyl acrylate, 2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate, and 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoroisopropyl acrylate were used to synthesize a series of nanosilica–polymer organic/inorganic hybrid materials. Products were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The coated nanosilica showed core–shell structures that contains polymer brushes up to 67 wt %. The application of these particles for modifying surface wettability was examined by covalently attaching them to glass via a recently developed one‐pot “grafting to” methodology using “thio‐bromo click” chemistry. Atomic force microscopy topographic images show up to 25 times increase in roughness of the coated glass compared to blank glass sample. Contact angle measurements showed that nanosilica coated with PBA and PTFEM produced hydrophobic glass surfaces, while a superhydrophobic and oleophobic surface was generated using nanosilica functionalized with PHFIPA. This novel methodology can produce superhydrophobic and oleophobic surfaces in an easy and fast way without the need for tedious and time‐consuming processes, such as layer‐by‐layer deposition, high temperature calcination, and fluorinated oil infusion. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018