title: Sharp Hydrophilicity Switching and Conformality on Nanostructured Surfaces Prepared via Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD) of a Novel Thermally Responsive Copolymer.
abstract: A novel thermally responsive copolymer p(NIPAAm-co-DEGDVE) is synthesized using the substrate independent method of iCVD and exhibits a sharp lower critical solution temperature (LCST) transition centered at ≈28.5 ± 0.3 °C determined via quartz crystal microbalance measurements with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). Swelling with water below the LCST produces a reversible change of ≈3× in film thickness. The layer is conformal on nanostructured surfaces including MWCNT forests and electrospun nanofiber mats. Modified planar substrates exhibit ≈30°change in static contact angle over the LCST, while through conformal coating on nanostructured substrates changes in static contact angle up to 135° are achieved. Additionally, coated surfaces exhibit temperature sensitive BSA adsorption measured by QCM-D and is reversible as shown through fluorescence imaging of a coated electrospun nanofiber mat.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
authors.forename: Mahriah E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Alf
authors.forename: Paul D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Godfrin
authors.forename: T Alan
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Hatton
authors.forename: Karen K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Gleason