Entnetzungsphänomene und Stabilität von dünnen Filmen aus Polymeren mit perfluorierten Substituenten

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Martin Möller
• Co-Applicant: Professor Dr. Sergei Sheiko
• Subject Area: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
• Term: from 1998 to 2003
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5108952

This project is directed towards stability and structure of thin films of polymers with perflorinated side chains. This is of practical importance for oil-, water and soil repellent coatings for textiles and polymers as well as for the coating technology itself. Our recent study has shown that semifluorinated polymers undergo layer-by-layer autophobic dewetting. This phenomenon is controlled by interplay between entropically favorable coiling of the backbone and energetically favored ordering of the side chains. Film stability and kinetics of the dewetting process will be studied systematically in dependence of the polymer structure, film thickness and interaction with the substrate. Hereby, a series of linear polymers with cristallizable perfloroalkyl side chains and intrinsically disordered perfluoroligoether side chains will be prepared. In addition to the current research, a new technique for micropatterning of thin polymer films will be developed based on vitrification of the water condensation pattern on a surface of a semifluorinated polymer solution. This approach allows preparation of a hexagonal pattern with a periodicity ranging from 100 to 10000 nm.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1052: Benetzung und Strukturbildung an Grenzflächen
• International Connection: USA