Fluorinated Raspberry-like Polymer Particles for Superamphiphobic Coatings

Raspberry-like (RB) polymer particles were prepared, fluorinated, and cast onto glass plates to yield highly water- and oil-repellant superamphiphobic particulate coatings. To procure the RB particles, glycidyl-bearing 212 and 332 nm particles (abbreviated as s-GMA and l-GMA, respectively) were first prepared via surfactant-free free radical emulsion polymerization. Reacting the glycidyl groups of the l-GMA particles with 2,2'-(ethylenedioxy)bis(ethylamine) (EDEA) produced large amine-functionalized particles (l-NH2). The l-NH2 particles were then reacted with an excess of the s-GMA particles to create RB particles. For surface fluorination, the residual glycidyl groups of the smaller s-GMA particles surrounding the central l-NH2 core of the RB particles were first converted to amino groups by reaction with EDEA. The purified amino-bearing particles were subsequently reacted with an excess of a statistical copolymer poly(2-(perfluorooctyl)ethyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate), P(FOEMA-co-GMA). Casting these particles onto glass plates yielded particulate films that exhibited static contact angles of 165 ± 2°, 155 ± 3°, 152 ± 4°, and 143 ± 1° and droplet rolling angles of <1 °, <1 °, 7 ± 2°, and 13 ± 2° for water, diiodomethane, corn-based cooking oil, and hexadecane droplets, respectively. These results demonstrated that this practical bottom-up approach could be used to produce superamphiphobic coatings.