Two-silane chemical vapor deposition treatment of polymer (nylon) and oxide surfaces that yields hydrophobic (and superhydrophobic), abrasion-resistant thin films

This article describes a two-silane, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach to creating hydrophobic (or even superhydrophobic), abrasion-resistant coatings on silicon oxide and polymer (nylon) substrates. This multistep approach employs only reagents delivered in the gas phase, as follows: (i) plasma cleaning/oxidation of the substrate, (ii) CVD of 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, which is used as an adhesion promoter for the substrate, (iii) hydrolysis with water vapor, and (iv) CVD of (tridecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrooctyl)trichlorosilane (the “Rf-Cl silane”). Surfaces are characterized by wetting, spectroscopic ellipsometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). This work has the following unique features. First, the authors explore an all gas phase deposition of a new silane coating that is scientifically interesting and technologically useful. Second, the authors show that the presence of an adhesion promoter in the process leads to thinner films that are more robust in abrasion testing. Third, results obtained using plasma/deposition equipment that is relatively inexpensive and/or available in most laboratories are compared to those obtained with a much more sophisticated, commercially available plasma/CVD system (the YES-1224P). The entire deposition process can be completed in only ∼1h using the industrial equipment (the 1224P). It is of significance that the polymer surfaces modified using the 1224P are superhydrophobic. Fourth, the thickness of the Rf-Cl silane layer deposited by CVD correlates well with the thickness of the underlying spin coated nylon surface, suggesting that the nylon film acts as a reservoir of water for the hydrolysis and condensation of the Rf-Cl silane.