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Smart, Piezo-Responsive Polyvinylidenefluoride/Polymethylmethacrylate Surface with Triggerable Water/Oil Wettability
Olga Guselnikova1,2, Roman Elashnikov1, Pavel Postnikov2
1Department of Solid State Engineering , Institute of Chemical Technology , 16628 Prague , Czech Republic.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|September 19, 2018
Summary
Researchers developed electrically switchable smart surfaces using polymer fibers. These surfaces can rapidly and reversibly change their water and oil wettability and adhesion properties, offering tunable surface functionalities.
Area of Science:
- Material Science
- Surface Chemistry
- Polymer Science
Background:
- Designing smart surfaces with externally triggerable wettability and adhesion is a key challenge.
- Existing materials often lack the dynamic control needed for advanced applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present an intelligent surface with electrically triggerable wettability and adhesion for water and oil.
- To demonstrate tunable surface properties from superhydrophobic/superoleophobic to hydrophilic/oleophilic.
Main Methods:
- Utilized piezo-responsive polymethylmethacrylate/polyvinylidenefluoride polymer fibers as the base material.
- Grafted hydrophilic or hydrophobic functional groups onto fibers using diazonium chemistry.
- Evaluated surface functionality via contact angle, wettability hysteresis, adhesion, and self-cleaning tests with and without electric fields.
Main Results:
- Achieved tunable surface wettability across a wide spectrum (superhydrophobic/superoleophobic to hydrophilic/oleophilic).
- Demonstrated reversible switching between low and high adhesion states for water and oil.
- Observed enhanced performance with ADT-C8F17 modification, attributed to functional group rearrangement under electric fields.
- Confirmed rapid (seconds) and reversible triggering of surface properties.
- Showcased satisfactory mechanical stability of the fiber-based coating.
Conclusions:
- The developed method provides a versatile platform for creating smart surfaces with electrically controlled wettability and adhesion.
- The rapid, reversible, and tunable nature of these surfaces holds promise for various applications in material science.
- The stability of the coating suggests practical viability for real-world use.
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