New types of electrodeposited polymer coatings with reversible wettability and electro-optical properties

Abstract

Novel coatings are disclosed prepared by electropolymerization of non-fluorinated conducting pre-grafted hydrophobic electropolymerizable monomers onto a conducting layer of a substrate, where the electropolymerized coating exhibit both unique reversible wettability and electro-optical properties. The coating may also include one or more layers of polymer particles upon which the non-fluorinated conducting pre-grafted hydrophobic electropolymerizable monomers are polymerized imparting a submicron structure to the coating. Methods for making and using the coatings are also disclosed.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A composition comprising a substrate including a surface having a coating formed thereon, where the surface comprises a conducting layer and where the coating comprises a non-fluorinated conducting polymer or plurality of non-fluorinated conducting and/or non-conducing polymers, where the coating has controllable redox chemical, electrochromic and wettability properties. 
     
     
         2 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the polymers comprise non-fluorinated conducting pre-grafted hydrophobic electropolymerizable monomers that are electrodeposited by anodic electropolymerization or chemical oxidative polymerization onto the conducting layer of the substrate. 
     
     
         3 . The composition of  claim 2 , wherein the electropolymerizable monomers comprise compounds of the general formula (I):
   A-RZ  (I)
   to form a non-fluorinated conducting polymer coating on the conducting layer to form a coated substrate, and where A is an anodic electropolymerizable group and is 2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)thiophen-3-yl, R is an alkenyl group having between 1 and about 20 carbon atoms, where one or more of the carbon atoms may be replaced by oxygen atoms, amino groups, amide groups, ester groups, or mixtures thereof, and Z is an end group selected from the group consisting of COOH, COOR 1 , and mixtures thereof, R 1  is a carbyl group having between 1 and about 10 carbon atoms and where the coating has controllable properties by applying an electric potential across the coating, where the properties include redox chemical, wettability and electrochromic or electro-optical properties.   
     
     
         4 . The composition of  claim 3 , wherein the compounds of formula are A p -RZ. 
     
     
         5 . The composition of  claim 3 , wherein the compounds of formula (I) are (A p ) n L-RZ. 
     
     
         6 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the polymers comprise non-fluorinated conducting pre-grafted hydrophobic electropolymerizable monomers that are electrodeposited by cathodic electropolymerization or chemical reductive methods which can involve radical or radical anion generation onto the conducting layer of the substrate. 
     
     
         7 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the coating further comprises one lower layer or a plurality of lower layers, each layer comprising one or a plurality of particles and where the layers deposited on conducting or electrode layer of the substrate surface influence a morphology of the electropolymerized polymers and where the layers are optionally removed to provide a open coating structure. 
     
     
         8 . The composition of  claim 7 , wherein the polymers comprise non-fluorinated conducting pre-grafted hydrophobic chains that are electrodeposited by anodic electropolymerization onto the layers of particles. 
     
     
         9 . The composition of  claim 8 , wherein the electropolymerizable monomers comprise compounds of the general formula (I):
   A-RZ  (I)
   to form a non-fluorinated conducting polymer coating on the conducting layer to form a coated substrate, and where A is an anodic electropolymerizable group and is 2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)thiophen-3-yl, R is an alkenyl group having between 1 and about 20 carbon atoms, where one or more of the carbon atoms may be replaced by oxygen atoms, amino groups, amide groups, ester groups, or mixtures thereof, and Z is an end group selected from the group consisting of COOH, COOR 1 , and mixtures thereof, R 1  is a carbyl group having between 1 and about 10 carbon atoms and where the coating has controllable properties by applying an electric potential across the coating, where the properties include redox chemical, wettability and electrochromic or electro-optical properties.   
     
     
         10 . The composition of  claim 8 , wherein the compounds of formula are A p -RZ. 
     
     
         11 . The composition of  claim 8 , wherein the compounds of formula (I) are (A p ) n L-RZ. 
     
     
         12 . The composition of  claim 7 , wherein the polymers comprise non-fluorinated conducting and/or non-conducting pre-grafted hydrophobic chains that are electrodeposited by cathodic electropolymerization or chemical reductive polymerization onto the conducting layer of the substrate. 
     
     
         13 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the particles comprise polymer particles, polymer latex particles, metal oxide particles, ceramic particles, salt particles, other conductive or non-conductive polymers or mixtures or combinations thereof pre-assembled on the conducting layer of the substrate surface. 
     
     
         14 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the polymer particles comprise polymer latex microsphere. 
     
     
         15 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the conducting layer comprises any suitable metal, metal alloy, metal oxide, polymer, and non-polymer surface, where the metal or metal alloys comprise gold (Au), platinum (Pt), indium tin oxide (ITO), iridium (Ir), rhodium (Rh), iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), Zinc (Zn), aluminum (Al) and other metal, metal oxide, or metal alloy electrode and conducting electrodes, mixtures or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the properties include superhydrophobicity and superlipophilicit, wherein the layers of the polymer particles provide a submicron scaled roughness of a biomimetic surface imitating a geometrical microstructure of a surface of a biological system, and wherein the coatings exhibit tunable redox, electrochromic and wettability properties that are tuned by applying an electric potential across the surface. 
     
     
         17 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the coating further comprises dopants, where the dopants permit control of electro-optical properties of the coating, where the properties are controlled by a level of doping and a nature of the polymers and layers. 
     
     
         18 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the coating further comprise a surfactant deposited on the coatings permitting further tuning of the wettability behavior of the coating. 
     
     
         19 . The composition of  claim 1 , comprises an anti-wetting composition, a filtration composition, an anti-corrosion composition, a de-icing composition, an anti-microbial composition, an electrochromic composition, or an electrophoretic composition or an electro-wetting composition. 
     
     
         20 . The composition of  claim 1 , wherein the polymers comprises non-fluorinated polythiophene polymers having dual superhydrophobic and superoleophilic wetting properties, which are easily and rapidly reversed with voltage or surfactant coincident with electrochromism.