A bioinspired approach to produce parahydrophobic properties using PEDOP conducting polymers with branched alkyl chains

Claudio Mortier (1) , Thierry Darmanin (1) , Frédéric Guittard (1)

1 Surfaces & Interfaces

In nature, several plants and insects, such as the Rosa montana petals or the gecko foot, are highly hydrophobic but with an extremely high water adhesion. These properties are called parahydrophobic. Here, in order to reproduce such properties we have developed original 3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole monomers containing branched alkyl chains in order to have intrinsically hydrophilic polymers. In certain conditions, the electrodeposited conducting polymer films are parahydrophobic due to the presence fibrous structures forming large agglomerates. On such surfaces, a water droplet deposited on them remains stuck even after a substrate inclination of 180°. Such properties are extremely interesting for applications in water harvesting, for example.

Domaines: Matériaux

Claudio Mortier, Thierry Darmanin, Frédéric Guittard. A bioinspired approach to produce parahydrophobic properties using PEDOP conducting polymers with branched alkyl chains. Pure and Applied Chemistry, 2015, 87, pp.805-814. ⟨10.1515/pac-2015-0104⟩. ⟨hal-01151647⟩