Superhydrophobic and slippery liquid-infused porous surfaces formed by the self-assembly of a hybrid ABC triblock copolymer and their antifouling performance

An ABC triblock copolymer based on poly(dimethylsiloxane)-poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-poly(methacrylol-sobutyl POSS) is synthesized via combination of SET-LRP and ATRP from a PDMS macroinitiator. The resulting polymer can readily self-assemble into hierarchical structures through a stepwise bottom-up'' strategy, i.e. self-assembly followed by the nonsolvent vapor-induced phase separation. When a mixture of dichloromethane/dimethylformamide (DCM/DMF) is used as the casting solvent, the resulting surface (SHS) exhibits superhydrophobicity with a high water contact angle (156.7 +/- 0.51 degrees) and a low roll-off angle (<9 degrees), and it also displays good self-cleaning property. Moreover, under the dichloromethane/methanol (DCM/MeOH) condition, a porous structure with intertwined networks of nano globules could be formed. Further infusion of the PDMS lubricant leads to the formation of a transparent slippery coating (SLIPS) with excellent water repellency, manifested by a low water contact angle hysteresis (similar to 3 degrees) and a small sliding angle (similar to 6 degrees). The SLIPS show excellent antifouling properties that effectively inhibit the attachment of P. aeruginosa ATCC 15692 as compared to that of the structured hydrophobic surfaces and cured PDMS surfaces.