Dalton F. Cheng

A Physical Approach To Specifically Improve the Mobility of Alkane Liquid Drops

Seamless control of resistance to liquid drop movement for polar (water) and nonpolar alkane (n-hexadecane, n-dodecane, and n-decane) probe liquids on substrate surfaces was successfully demonstrated using molten linear poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) brush films with a range of different molecular weights (MWs). The ease of movement of liquid drops critically depended on polymer chain mobility as it relates to both polymer MW and solvent swelling on these chemically- and topographically identical surfaces. Our brush films therefore displayed lower resistances to liquid drop movement with decreasing polymer MW and surface tension of probe liquid as measured by contact angle (CA) hysteresis and tilt angle measurements. Subsequently, while mobility of water drops was inferior and became worse at higher MWs, n-decane drops were found to experience little resistance to movement on these polymer brush films. Calculating CA hysteresis as Δθ(cos) = cos θ(R) - cos θ(A) (θ(A) and θ(R) are the advancing and receding CAs, respectively) rather than the standard Δθ = θ(A) - θ(R) was found to be advantageous for estimation of the actual dynamic dewetting behavior of various probe liquids on an inclined substrate.

Smooth perfluorinated surfaces with different chemical and physical natures: their unusual dynamic dewetting behavior toward polar and nonpolar liquids.

The effects of surface chemistry and the mobility of surface-tethered functional groups of various perfluorinated surfaces on their dewetting behavior toward polar (water) and nonpolar (n-hexadecane, n-dodecane, and n-decane) liquids were investigated. In this study, three types of common smooth perfluorinated surfaces, that is, a perfluoroalkylsilane (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyl-dimethylchlorosilane, FAS17) monomeric layer, an amorphous fluoropolymer film (Teflon AF 1600), and a perfluorinated polyether (PFPE)-terminated polymer brush film (Optool DSX), were prepared and their static/dynamic dewetting characteristics were compared. Although the apparent static contact angles (CAs) of these surfaces with all probe liquids were almost identical to each other, the ease of movement of liquid drops critically depended on the physical (solidlike or liquidlike) natures of the substrate surface. CA hysteresis and substrate tilt angles (TAs) of all probe liquids on the Optool DSX surface were found to be much lower than those of Teflon AF1600 and FAS17 surfaces due to its physical polymer chain mobility at room temperature and the resulting liquidlike nature. Only 6.0° of substrate incline was required to initiate movement for a small drop (5 μL) of n-decane, which was comparable to the reported substrate TA value (5.3°) for a superoleophobic surface (θ(S) > 160°, textured perfluorinated surface). Such unusual dynamic dewetting behavior of the Optool DSX surface was also markedly enhanced due to the significant increase in the chain mobility of PFPE by moderate heating (70 °C) of the surface, with substrate TA reducing to 3.0°. CA hysteresis and substrate TAs rather than static CAs were therefore determined to be of greater consequence for the estimation of the actual dynamic dewetting behavior of alkane probe liquids on these smooth perfluorinated surfaces. Their dynamic dewettability toward alkane liquids is in the order of Optool DSX >> Teflon AF1600 ≈ FAS17.

How To Reduce Resistance to Movement of Alkane Liquid Drops Across Tilted Surfaces Without Relying on Surface Roughening and Perfluorination

Alkylsilane-derived monolayer-covered surfaces generally display a reasonably good level of hydrophobicity but poor oleophobicity. Here, we demonstrate that the physical attributes of alkylsilane-derived surfaces (liquid-like or solid-like) are dependent on the alkyl chain length and density, and these factors subsequently have significant influence upon the dynamic dewetting behavior toward alkanes (C(n)H(2n+2), where n = 7-16). In this study, we prepared and characterized hybrid films through a simple sol-gel process based on the cohydrolysis and co-condensation of a mixture of a range of alkyltriethoxysilanes (C(n)H(2n+1)Si(OEt)(3), where n = 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18) and tetramethoxysilane (TMOS). Surprisingly, when the carbon number (C(n)) of alkyl chain was 10 and below, the produced hybrid films were all smooth, highly transparent, and showed negligible contact angle (CA) hysteresis. On these hybrid surfaces, 5 μL drops of alkanes (n-hexadecane, n-dodecane, and n-decane) could move easily at low tilt angles (<5°) without pinning. On the other hand, when the C(n) exceeded 12, both transparency and mobility of probe liquids significantly worsened. In the former case, TMOS molecules played key roles in both forming continuous films (as a binder) and improving flexibility of alkyl chains (as a molecular spacer), resulting in the smooth liquid-like surfaces. Silylation of the hybrid film and subsequent dynamic CA measurements proved the presence of silanol groups on the outermost surfaces and demonstrated that the dynamic dewettability of hybrid films worsened as packing densities increased. Additionally, solvent effects (high affinity) between the alkyl chains and alkane liquids imparted a more liquid-like character to the surface. Thanks to these simple physical effects, the resistance to the alkane droplet motion across tilted surfaces was markedly reduced. With the longer carbon chains, the chain mobility was strictly inhibited by mutual interactions between neighboring alkyl chains even in the presence of TMOS molecules. The achieved surfaces displayed a solid-like nature along with surface defects, leading to inferior dynamic oleophobicity. Therefore, the critical C(n) of alkyl chain used for determining final dynamic dewetting behavior against alkane liquids was 12. Furthermore, our hybrid surfaces exhibited excellent antifingerprint properties, particularly demonstrating low adhesion and easy removal from the surface.

Why can organic liquids move easily on smooth alkyl-terminated surfaces?

The dynamic dewettability of a smooth alkyl-terminated sol-gel hybrid film surface against 17 probe liquids (polar and nonpolar, with high and low surface tensions) was systematically investigated using contact angle (CA) hysteresis and substrate tilt angle (TA) measurements, in terms of their physicochemical properties such as surface tension, molecular weight/volume, dielectric constant, density, and viscosity. We found that the dynamic dewettability of the hybrid film markedly depended not on the surface tensions but on the dielectric constants of the probe liquids, displaying lower resistance to liquid drop movement with decreasing dielectric constant (ε < 30). Interfacial analysis using the sum-frequency generation (SFG) technique confirmed that the conformation of surface-tethered alkyl chains was markedly altered before and after contact with the different types of probe liquids. When probe liquids with low dielectric constants were in contact with our surface, CH3 groups were preferentially exposed at the solid/liquid interface, leading to a reduction in surface energy. Because of such local changes in surface energy at the three-phase contact line of the probe liquid, the contact line can move continuously from low-surface-energy (solid/liquid) areas to surrounding high-surface-energy (solid/air) areas without pinning. Consequently, the organic probe liquids with low dielectric constants can move easily and roll off when tilted only slightly, independent of the magnitude of CAs, without relying on conventional surface roughening and perfluorination.

Unusual Dynamic Dewetting Behavior of Smooth Perfluorinated Hybrid Films: Potential Advantages over Conventional Textured and Liquid-Infused Perfluorinated Surfaces

From a viewpoint of reducing the burden on the environment and human health, an alternative method for preparing liquid-repellent surfaces without relying on the long perfluorocarbons (C((X-1)/2)F(X), X ≥ 17) has been strongly demanded lately. In this study, we have successfully demonstrated that dynamic dewettability toward various probe liquids (polar and nonpolar liquids with high or low surface tension) can be tuned by not only controlling surface chemistries (surface energies) but also the physical (solid-like or liquid-like) nature of the surface. We prepared smooth and transparent organic-inorganic hybrid films exhibiting unusual dynamic dewetting behavior toward various probe liquids using a simple sol-gel reaction based on the co-hydrolysis and co-condensation of a mixture including a range of perfluoroalkylsilanes (FASX, C((X-1)/2)F(X)CH2CH2Si(OR)3, where X = 3, 9, 13, and 17) and tetramethoxysilane (Si(OCH3)4, TMOS). Dynamic contact angle (CA) and substrate tilt angle (TA) measurements confirmed that our FASX-hybrid films exhibited excellent dynamic dewetting properties and were mostly independent of the length of perfluoroalkyl (Rf) groups. For example, 10 μL droplets of ultralow surface tension liquids (e.g., diethyl ether (γ = 16.26 dyn/cm) and n-pentane (γ = 15.51 dyn/cm)) could move easily on our FAS9-, FAS13-, and FAS17-hybrid film surfaces at low substrate TAs (<4°) without pinning. This is comparable or superior to the best perfluorinated textured and flat surfaces reported so far. This exceptional dynamic dewetting behavior appeared only when TMOS molecules were added to the precursor solutions; we assume this is due to co-condensed TMOS-derived silica species working as spacers between the neighboring Rf chains, enabling them to rotate freely and in doing so provide a surface with liquid-like properties. This led to the distinguished dynamic dewettability of our hybrid films, regardless of the small static CAs. Our FASX-hybrid films also displayed excellent chemical and physical durability against thermal stress (~250 °C), high-temperature (150 °C) oil vapor, and various other media (perfluoro liquid, boiling water, and weak acid) without degrading their dynamic dewettability. Such exceptional durability has been rarely seen on conventional perfluorinated surfaces reported so far.

Long perfluoroalkyl chains are not required for dynamically oleophobic surfaces

Dynamically oleophobic surfaces for alkane liquids, such as n-decane, n-dodecane and n-hexadecane, were successfully prepared using a simple sol–gel mixture containing 3,3,3-trifluoropropyltrimethoxysilane (FAS3) and tetramethoxysilane (TMOS). Due to the enhancement of the motion of functional groups by addition of TMOS as a molecular spacer, small volume alkane droplets (3 μL) could be easily set in motion to move across and off our hybrid surfaces without pinning at low tilt angles (∼10°), and without relying on conventional surface roughening and long-chain perfluoroalkylsilanes.

Smooth, transparent and nonperfluorinated surfaces exhibiting unusual contact angle behavior toward organic liquids

Smooth, transparent and nonperfluorinated surfaces exhibiting unusual contact angle (CA) behavior toward various organic liquids have been prepared using a simple sol–gel solution containing decyltriethoxysilane (DTES) and tetramethoxysilane (TMOS). The insertion of co-condensed silica units derived from TMOS as a spacer between the neighboring alkyl (decyl) chains allows them to rotate freely and provide a surface with liquid-like properties. The resulting surfaces exhibit negligible CA hysteresis for probe liquids, allowing the droplets to move easily and roll off when only slightly tilted, without relying on conventional surface roughening and perfluorination.

Novel transparent zirconium-based hybrid material with multilayered nanostructures: studies of surface dewettability toward alkane liquids.

We have successfully prepared unique inorganic-organic hybrid materials that demonstrate excellent transparency and dewettability toward various alkane liquids (n-hexadecane, n-dodecane and n-decane) without relying on conventional surface roughening and perfluorination. Such coatings were made using a novel family of hybrid materials generated by substituting carboxylic acids, with a range of alkyl chain lengths (CH(3)(CH(2))(x-2)COOH where x = total carbon number, i.e., 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 22, or 24, into zirconium (Zr) tetra-propoxide complexes. This precursor was then mixed with acetic acid and spincast to produce transparent thin Zr-carboxylic acid (ZrCA(x)) hybrid films using a nonhydrolytic sol-gel process. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provided proof of Zr-O-Zr network formation in the films upon casting and also followed changes to the physical nature (liquid-like or solid-like) of the alkyl chain assemblies depending upon alkyl chain length. X-ray diffractometry revealed that the hybrid films prepared using the longer chain carboxylic acids (ZrCA(x≥18)) spontaneously self-assembled into lamella structures with d-spacings ranging from 29.5 to 32.7 Angstroms, depending on the length of the alkyl chain. On the other hand the remaining films (ZrCA(x<18)) showed no such ordering. Moreover, the dynamic dewetting behavior of our hybrid films with alkane liquids was also strongly affected by alkyl chain length. ZrCA(x) films with x = 12, 14, and 16 showed the best dynamic oleophobicity among the seven hybrid films. In particular, small volume alkane droplets (5 μL) could be easily set in motion to move across and off ZrCA(14) film surfaces without pinning at low tilt angles (~6°).

Highly Loaded Silicone Nanocomposite Exhibiting Quick Thermoresponsive Optical Behavior

Bulk silicone nanocomposites with thermoresponsive optical behavior were fabricated using silica nanoparticle fillers within a cross-linked silicone matrix. Silica nanoparticles (25 nm diameter) were surface-modified, allowing for even distribution at 6-24 wt % within and covalent bonding to the silicone matrix. Utilizing the temperature-dependent match/mismatching of the refractive indices of the silica nanoparticle filler and the silicone matrix, bulk nanocomposites are highly transparent at room temperature and demonstrate significant increases in opacity with increasing temperature up to 100-150 °C. Such a response could be cycled quickly and repeatedly with no detrimental effect on the material.

Lamination of alumina membranes to polymer surfaces: thick, hard, transparent, crack-free alumina films on polymers with excellent adhesion.

Hard and transparent alumina (Al(2)O(3)) films with thicknesses in the range of 500 nm to 5 μm were successfully formed on polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) surfaces. Our process is based on a lamination of anodized aluminum membranes (AAMs) to the polymer surfaces, followed by chemical etching. Because of capillary force, molten PS and liquid PMMA precursor were successfully pulled into the nanopores (10 nm diameter) within the Al(2)O(3) layers and solidified by cooling or polymerization, respectively. Our resulting AAM-laminated surfaces exhibited excellent adhesion and surface mechanical properties similar to those of fused silica, remaining crack-free and transparent even with Al(2)O(3) thicknesses exceeding 1 μm.