Preparation of superhydrophobic surfaces and slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces based on core-cross-linked nanostructured materials obtained by living coordination block copolymerization through PISA process

Well-defined core-cross-linked nanostructured materials were prepared by the living coordination block copolymerization of a fluoroalkyl-substituted allene, 1-(1H,1H,2H,2H-heptadecafluorodecyoxy)-2,3-butadiene and a hydrophobic bifunctional allene, i.e., 1,4-bis(propa-1,2-dien-1-yloxy)benzene in a selective fluorous solvent, i.e., 1,1,1,2,2,3,4,5,5,5-decafluoro-3-methoxy-4-(trifluoromethyl)pentane, under the conditions of the polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) process. The nanostructures produced during the copolymerization proved to alter from sphere-like to network micelles as the relative segment length of the fluorinated segment decreased. The superhydrophobic coatings with the static contact angle (CA) and the sliding angle (SA) of water droplets over 150 degrees and below 5 degrees, respectively, were effectively attained simply by the spray-coatings of the micellar suspension onto fluorinated glass substrates. Furthermore, the formation of slippery liquid-infused porous coatings that exhibit excellent liquid repellency with a small sliding angle below 5 degrees was attained by spreading the perfluoropolyether (PFPE) oil, Galden (R) HT230, onto the resulting coating.