Direct Electrodeposition of Superhydrophobic and Highly Oleophobic Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole) (PEDOP) and Poly(3,4-propylenedioxypyrrole) (PProDOP) Nanofibers

Inspired by surface properties in nature, we develop for the first time nanofibers of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxypyrrole) (PEDOP) and poly(3,4-propylenedioxypyrrole) (PProDOP) with superhydrophobic and highly oleophobic properties via electropolymerization. This was achieved by grafting fluorinated chains onto the alkylenedioxy cycle of PEDOP and PProDOP, while keeping NH groups free. We use a novel strategy to prepare EDOP and ProDOP with a hydroxyl group on the cycle by reaction with epibromohydrin, which is followed by grafting of fluorinated chains. The highest surface properties are obtained with the shortest fluorinated chains (C4F9) due to the formation of nanofibers and the dimension of these nanofibers can be controlled by changing the base monomer (EDOP or ProDOP). This work can be of interest to researchers working in many fields such as the control of wetting properties but also in the development of conducting polymers, membranes, and sensors. For example, EDOT and ProDOT are actually the most-employed monomers to obtain conducting polymers and here we show that EDOP and ProDOP derivatives have similar electropolymerization properties, which shows the importance of this manuscript for the scientific community. Moreover, the possibility to substitute on the NH groups will be another possiblity to obtain multifunctional polymers, while the NH groups can also be used to obtain pH-sensitive polymers.