Superhydrophobic surface properties with various nanofibrous structures by electrodeposition of PEDOT polymers with short fluorinated chains and rigid spacers

• Synthesis of an original EDOT derivatives with a short fluorinated chain and a rigid connector.
• Various nanofibrous structures obtained by electrodeposition.
• Superhydrophobic properties and hysteresis dependent on electrochemical parameters.

In the aim to produce superhydrophobic surface properties, the nanofibers are excellent candidates due to the possible control in the water adhesion by the nanofiber characteristics, for example. Here, we report the growth of nanofibers with various assemblies directly on surfaces by electropolymerization. For this purpose, an original 3,4-ethylenediothiophene monomer was synthesized. The monomer contains a short fluorinated chain (C4F9) in order to preserve the nanofiber morphology and a highly rigid methoxybenzothioate spacer for the reduction of the mobility. In this work, we show that various nanofibrous structures and superhydrophobic properties can be obtained by modifying the electrolyte while the surface roughness can also be controlled by the number of deposition scans. The nanofibrous polymers could be used to control the attachment and growth of cells or bacteria.

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