Spontaneous templated superhydrophilic hybrid surfaces

Elena Celia (1) , Elisabeth Taffin de Givenchy (1) , Sonia Amigoni (1) , Thierry Darmanin (1) , Frédéric Guittard (1)

1 Surfaces & Interfaces

The fabrication of silica nanoparticle-decorated polyethylene (PE) surface showing a spontaneous structured surface texture is presented. The texture is induced by the swelling ability of poly(acrylic acid) chains once polymerized on the PE. Their carboxylic groups are used to covalently introduce silica nanoparticles by the mean of coupling agents EDC/NHS in water. We observed that the reaction with EDC/NHS agents results in a swelling of the surface texture. AFM tapping mode images of the swelled template and of the surface during and after the nanoparticles grafting reaction allow to visualize the evolution of the surface structuration and the distribution of the nanoparticles. The asprepared surfaces show superhydrophilic properties as confirmed by the spreading of water droplet over the surface within 5 s even at the early stage of the grafting reaction.

Domaines: Matériaux

Elena Celia, Elisabeth Taffin de Givenchy, Sonia Amigoni, Thierry Darmanin, Frédéric Guittard. Spontaneous templated superhydrophilic hybrid surfaces. Materials Letters, 2014, 128, pp.333-335. ⟨10.1016/j.matlet.2014.04.162⟩. ⟨hal-00982480⟩