A novel hybrid material synthesized by grafting fluorinated block polymer chains to silica nanoparticles via surface-initiated activators generated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ARGET ATRP) was proposed.The components of the block copolymer 2-[[2-(perfluorohexyl)]-sulfonyl]methyl]-amino]ethyl-acrylate (C6SA) and methyl methacrylate were well designed
and verified by gel permeation chromatography measurements.Monodispersed silica nanoparticles prepared by Stber method and grafted by the fluorinated block copolymer could disperse well in the organic solvent.The form of fluorinated block copolymer grafted silica nanoparticles was confirmed by TEM.The composition and chemical structure were studied by FTIR and 1H-NMR.The presence of hierarchical multi-scale surface roughness in the samples was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).Furthermore
this inorganic/organic hybrid material
SiO2-P(MMA-b-C6SA)
showed excellent thermal stability
tested by TGA measurements.Water and n-hexadecane contact angles on the hybrid surface were both larger than that of the pure fluorinated polymer P(MMA-b-C6SA) surface
which can impart the surface with olephobiity and water-repellence properties. More importantly
this inorganic/organic hybrid surface showed excellent self-cleaning properties
dust can be easily washed away by water or swept away by wind.According to the present study
it is reasonable to predict that the organic-inorganic hybrid coating will be a prospective anti-icing and self-cleaning candidate.