Plasma functional polymerization of dopamine using atmospheric pressure plasma and a dopamine solution mist

Abstract

By using DBD-type atmospheric pressure plasmas and a dopamine solution mist formed by a piezoelectric module, the possibility of depositing functional polymer films showing the physical and chemical characteristics of polydopamine without breaking the functional group of the dopamine has been investigated for different plasma voltages. The higher DBD voltages up to 3.0 kV decreased the functional groups such as catechol and amine (N/C ratio) relative to dopamine in the deposited polymer by increasing the dissociation of dopamine into atoms and small molecules due to higher electron energies. In contrast, the lower DBD voltages up to 1.5 kV increased the functional group and N/C ratio of dopamine in the deposited polymer by keeping the molecular structures of the dopamine due to lower electron energies. Therefore, the polymer deposited at the lower DBD voltages showed lower contact angles and higher metal absorption properties which are some of the surface modification characteristics of polydopamine. When the metal absorption properties of the polydopamine-like film deposited using the atmospheric pressure plasma of a low DBD voltage with a dopamine solution mist were compared with other metal absorbers for Cu, As, and Cr, the polydopamine-like film exhibited superior metal absorption properties. It is believed that this atmospheric pressure plasma process can be also applied to the plasma polymerization of other monomers without breaking the functional groups of the monomers.

Strategic Advances in Spatiotemporal Control of Bioinspired Phenolic Chemistries in Materials Science

“…In addition to the solution per se, the mist of DA solution has the ability to form membrane. As a prominent example, Mun et al reported that, by using the atmospheric pressure plasma and DA mist, a ≈536 nm thick polymer film could be deposited in 60 s. [29] The inclusion of unique reagents is also a valuable approach to regulate the polymerization of DA, aimed at altered deposition dynamics and tailored structures and properties of PDA. [25,[106][107][108][109][110][111] On the one hand, many oxidants, such as Cu 2+…”

“…h) Atmospheric pressure plasma. [ 29 ] (C) Modified polymerization with additional reagents. a) Oxidants.…”

“…As a prominent example, Mun et al. reported that, by using the atmospheric pressure plasma and DA mist, a ≈536 nm thick polymer film could be deposited in 60 s. [ 29 ]…”

“…The kinetics of catechol polymerization is reported to be adaptable across hour‐to‐second time scales. By addition of oxidants (e.g., Cu 2+ ), [ 25 ] and radical species, [ 26 ] and the use of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, [ 27 ] microwave, [ 28 ] and atmospheric pressure plasma, [ 29 ] the deposition time for polydopamine (PDA) coatings can be reduced by several orders of magnitudes (e.g., ≈500 nm thickness in 60 s by plasma [ 29 ] vs ≈50 nm thickness in 24 h traditionally). Some of these conditions can even induce catechol polymerization in an otherwise oxidization‐inhibiting acidic environment.…”

Atmospheric plasma deposition of bioinspired catechol-rich polymers: a promising route for the simple construction of redox-active thin films

“…12,13 In particular, the developed approach offers an interesting alternative to the production of catechol-films from liquid-assisted plasma routes, 14,15 known to suffer from non-wetting phenomena. Compared to the work of Mun et al exploiting dopamine, 16 the method relies on injecting a liquid precursor consisting of a catechol-based vinyl monomer (dopamine (meth)acrylamide) dissolved in (di)methacrylate acting as co-monomer and solvent directly into the plasma discharge zone. Although the catechol-functionalized thin films were successfully exploited for the covalent immobilization of biomolecules, 13 such a precursor formulation was irrelevant for energy storage applications due to the low catechol density diluted in the methacrylate-based film matrix.…”