One-step rapid formation of wrinkled fractal antibiofouling coatings from environmentally friendly, waste-derived terpenes

Abstract

Wrinkled coatings are a potential drug-free method for mitigating bacterial attachment and biofilm formation on materials such as medical and food grade steel. However, their fabrication typically requires multiple steps and often the use of a stimulus to induce wrinkle formation. Here, we report a facile plasma-based method for rapid fabrication of thin (<250 nm) polymer coatings from a single environmentally friendly precursor, where wrinkle formation and fractal pattern development are controlled solely by varying the deposition time from 3 s to 60 s. We propose a mechanism behind the observed in situ development of wrinkles in plasma, as well as demonstrate how introducing specific topographical features on the surface of the substrata can result int the formation of even more complex, ordered wrinkle patterns arising from the non-uniformity of plasma when in contact with structured surfaces. Thus-fabricated wrinkled surfaces show good adhesion to substrate and an antifouling activity that is not observed in the equivalent smooth coatings and hence is attributed to the specific pattern of wrinkles.