Amphiphilic pentablock copolymers and their blends with PDMS for antibiofouling coatings. Issue 10 (21st February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Martinelli, Elisa; Guazzelli, Elisa; Bartoli, Cristina; Gazzarri, Matteo; Chiellini, Federica; Galli, Giancarlo; Callow, Maureen E.; Callow, James A.; Finlay, John A.; Hill, Sophie
• Is Part Of: Journal of polymer science. Volume 53:Issue 10(2015:May)
• Page Start: 1213
• Page End: 1225
• Publication Date: 2015-02-21
• Subjects: 547
• DOI: 10.1002/pola.27554
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0887-624X

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>ABSTRACT</title> <p>Well‐defined amphiphilic pentablock copolymers Si<italic>y</italic>‐(EG<italic>x</italic>‐FA<italic>z</italic>)₂ composed of polysiloxane (Si), polyethylene glycol (EG), and perfluorohexylethyl polyacrylate (FA) blocks are synthesized by ATRP of FA monomer starting from a difunctional bromo‐terminated macroinitiator. Diblock copolymers EG<italic>x</italic>‐FA<italic>z</italic> are also synthesized as model systems. The block copolymers are used, either alone or blended with a PDMS matrix in varied loadings, to prepare antibiofouling coatings. Angle‐resolved XPS and contact angle measurements show that the coating surface is highly enriched in fluorine content but undergoes reconstruction after contact with water. Protein adsorption experiments with human serum albumin and calf serum highlight that diblock copolymers resist protein adhesion better than do pentablock copolymers. Blending of the pentablock copolymer with PDMS results in increased protein adsorption. By contrast, the PDMS‐matrix coatings show high removal percentages of sporelings of the green fouling alga <italic>Ulva linza</italic>. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem <bold>2015</bold>, <italic>53</italic>, 1213–1225</p> </abstract>