Accessing Thin Film Wetting Regimes during Polymer Growth by Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition

We investigate the growth of a fluorinated polymer via initiated chemical vapor deposition onto a suite of isotropic and mesogenic liquids with a range of refractive indices. The polymer morphology at fluid interfaces was found to deviate from conformal films predicted by the positive spreading coefficient, and the resulting morphology is attributed to long-range van der Waals interactions during the deposition process. Experiments systematically vary the deposition conditions and compare the liquid phase (isotropic or nematic) to evaluate the effect of kinetic factors and the liquid substrate phase on the interfacial polymer morphology and spatial organization.