Preparation of stable superhydrophobic surfaces: Poly(p-xylylene) conformal coating

POLY 203

Jung Ah Lee, jungah@polysci.umass.edu and Thomas J. McCarthy, tmccarthy@polysci.umass.edu. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, 120 Governors Dr, Conte A533, Amherst, MA 01003
Superhydrophobic surfaces that water droplets do not wet were prepared using poly(p-xylylene) (PPX) conformal coating. PPX coating by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) polymerization is an attractive technique since it produces conformal pin-hole free coatings of controllable thickness, regardless of the geometric complexity of the substrate. PPX also has excellent thermal, solvent resistant and chemical resistant properties. In this study, a hydrophilic microfiber polymer fabric (μPF) was chosen to test PPX as a superhydrophobic coating. After nanoscale coating with PPX, water contact angles of μPF are θA/θR = 176°/174°. Notable is that although the inherent wettability of PPX is lower than that of alkyl, fluoroalkyl and silicone surfaces, comparable or higher contact angles are obtained with PPX.
 

General Papers: Polymers in Nanotechnology
6:00 PM-8:00 PM, Sunday, August 19, 2007 BCEC -- Exhibit Hall - B2, Poster

Division of Polymer Chemistry

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007