Bioinspired metal–polymer thin films with varying hydrophobic properties

Abstract

Nanocomposites involve the inclusion of one material into the layers of another material at a nanoscale level. Inspired by nature, nanocomposites material systems offer functionalities over their bulk forms which in some cases have evolved over millions of years. Here, thin film coatings have been fabricated by PVD sputtering, comprising a soft PTFE phase which is combined with a hard metallic NiTi phase. A series of coatings with PTFE ranging from 10 to 75 vol% have been prepared, and their surface energies and microstructures investigated. The surface energy of the nanocomposite films changes with the PTFE content, falling in the range between PTFE and NiTi with water contact angles between 80°and 102°f or a thin film with 25 and 75 vol% of PTFE, respectively. Here, both TEM and EDX reveal PTFE forming along NiTi column boundaries. Coatings with PTFE content greater than 50 vol% failed due to a build-up of intrinsic stress. The degree of hybridization between NiTi and PTFE was found to be dependent on the PTFE layer thickness. SEM analysis of this coating reveals PTFE at the surface embedded within the NiTi matrix.

Influence of MgF2 nanoparticles in the plasma polymer fluorocarbon‐based transparent nanocomposite thin films on the surface hardness properties

“…The 12 C + ions in the mass spectra were detected exactly at 12.000 u, and based on this, the mass of carbon and binding ions was calculated. Using the atomic mass of 1 H, 12 C, 16 O, 19 F, 24 Mg, 25 Mg, and 26 Mg, and the representative isotopic composition of magnesium, the F I G U R E 1 (a) Fluorine and magnesium mapping, (b) TEM images of MgF 2 30 thin film, (c) lattice of (111)oriented MgF 2 nanoparticle, (d) size distribution of MgF 2 nanoparticles calculated from the TEM image, and (e) XRD pattern of the MgF 2 30 thin film measured by the grazing incidence method. PET, polyethylene terephthalate; TEM, transmission electron microscopy; XRD, X-ray diffraction high-resolution mass spectra of ions bound to magnesium were analyzed.…”

“…Nanoparticle/PPFC matrix structures have been proposed for use as surface antimicrobials, [2,3,6,18] abrasion-resistant coatings, [19] biomedical or photovoltaic sensors, [5,13,20] high hardness materials, [21,22] and bioactive materials. [23][24][25][26] In particular, a nanosized MgF 2 polycrystalline, which is a typical optical material, exhibiting a low refractive index of 1.38 and a large band gap of 10.8 eV, was embedded into a polymer matrix and was expected to exhibit the following properties: a tunable refractive index, [27,28] antireflection coatings, [29] and surface protective coatings. [25,30] In this study, we have developed a novel method to fabricate MgF 2 in a polymer matrix structure using selfmade MgF 2 -carbon nanotubes (CNT)-PTFE ternary composite sputtering targets for an optically transparent protective coating.…”