Superhydrophobic Conducting Polymers Based on Hydrocarbon Poly(3,4‐Ethylenedioxyselenophene)

Abstract

We report the first studied example of wettability of conducting polymers based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene). Hydrocarbon 3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene (C2H5 to C12H25) derivatives are synthesized and electropolymerized in propylene carbonate using lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF4) and lithium bistrifluoromethanesulfonimidate (LiTf2N) as electrolyte. Highly structured films are obtained from a C8H17 chain independent of the electrolyte used. Superhydrophobic properties with high adhesion are specifically reached if using a C12H25 chain and LiBF4. The surface morphology is porous and highly structured as the films consist of assemblies of nanofibrils.

Rapid transformation of transparent conducting films into superhydrophobic conductive films

“…[15][16][17][18][19] However, a solution with a mixture of insulating materials or the overcoating process increases the surface resistivity significantly. Thus, self-texturing of the plastic substrates can be an alternative method of transforming conductive lms into superhydrophobic surface.…”

Sticky superhydrophobic hard nanofibers from soft matter

“…Indeed, it is extremely difficult to elaborate vertically aligned polymer nanofibers because of their lateral collapse and coalescence, for example during evaporation, due to capillary forces and low stiffness of the fibers. [46][47][48][49] Such fibers were never observed by electrodeposition even with linear alkyl chains, [35][36] which shows an effect of the use of branched alkyl chains to control the hardness of nanofibers.…”

“…36a To decrease the hydrophobicity of fluorinated or hydrocarbon chain, a way is to introduce branching, which decreases the interchain interactions. In the case of alkyl chains, linear alkyl chains were reported [35][36] but not branched alkyl chains.…”

“…Various hydrophobic substituents can be grafted on the monomers to modify the intrinsic polymer hydrophobicity. For the growth of nanofibers, polyaniline, [26][27] polypyrrole, [28][29][30] poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) [31][32][33][34][35] or poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene) (PProDOT) 36-38 derivatives have been described in the literature. One of the advantages of using ProDOT derivatives is the various possible positions for controlled substitution with hydrophobic substituents.…”

“…Hence, both fluorinated and alkyl chains have been used in the literature. [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38] In the case of long fluorinated chains, our group is trying to replace them due to their bioaccumulative potential reported in animals and humans. [39][40] The high interactions between long fluorinated chains, their high insolubility and chemical resistance mean that they cannot be readily metabolized.…”