Stability of maleic anhydride plasma polymer film to water drop evaporation

Previous work revealed the possibility of controlling the nanostructuration of maleic anhydride plasma polymer (MAPP) by adjusting the plasma process parameters or adding cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) previously on the substrate. This work aimed to evaluate the stability of MAPP coating to water drop evaporation. The evaporation process was followed by optical microscopy and the effects of substrate surface chemistry and presence of CNCs were investigated. The presence of CNCs affected not only the MAPP adhesion under wet condition, leading to an impressive morphological reconstruction of MAPP coating, but also the evaporation kinetics. Therefore, this work exhibits a simple way to obtain functional surface patterns by changing the coating wet adhesion and opens new opportunities for the utilization of CNCs.