Influence of Parylene F Coatings on the Wetting Properties of Soft Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)

Understanding the wettability of soft surfaces is of key importance for the development of protective and repellent coatings and controlling droplet dynamics when required. There are many factors that affect the wetting and dynamic dewetting behavior of soft surfaces, such as the formation of wetting ridges, the adaptive behavior of the surface caused by the interaction of the fluid with the surface, or the presence of free oligomers that are washed out of the soft surface. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of three soft polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surfaces with elastic moduli ranging from 7 kPa to 56 kPa. The dynamic dewetting behavior of liquids with different surface tensions was studied on these surfaces, and the data show soft and adaptive wetting behavior of the soft PDMS, as well as the presence of free oligomers. Thin layers of Parylene F (PF) were introduced to the surfaces and their influence on the wetting properties was studied. We show that the thin layers of PF prevent adaptive wetting by preventing the diffusion of liquids into the soft PDMS surfaces and by causing the loss of the soft wetting state. The dewetting properties of the soft PDMS are enhanced, leading to low sliding angles of ≤10° for water, ethylene glycol, and diiodomethane. Therefore, the introduction of a thin PF layer can be used to control wetting states and to increase the dewetting behavior of soft PDMS surfaces.

Superrepellent Porous Polymer Surfaces by Replication from Wrinkled Polydimethylsiloxane/Parylene F

Superrepellent surfaces, such as micro/nanostructured surfaces, are of key importance in both academia and industry for emerging applications in areas such as self-cleaning, drag reduction, and oil repellence. Engineering these surfaces is achieved through the combination of the required surface topography, such as porosity, with low-surface-energy materials. The surface topography is crucial for achieving high liquid repellence and low roll-off angles. In general, the combination of micro- and nanostructures is most promising in achieving high repellence. In this work, we report the enhancement of wetting properties of porous polymers by replication from wrinkled Parylene F (PF)-coated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Fluorinated polymer foam “Fluoropor” serves as the low-surface-energy polymer. The wrinkled molds are achieved via the deposition of a thin PF layer onto the soft PDMS substrates. Through consecutive supercritical drying, superrepellent surfaces with a high surface porosity and a high water contact angle (CA) of >165° are achieved. The replicated surfaces show low roll-off angles (ROA) <10° for water and <21° for ethylene glycol. Moreover, the introduction of the micro-wrinkles to Fluoropor not only enhances its liquid repellence for water and ethylene glycol but also for liquids with low surface tension, such as n-hexadecane.