Biomimetic Asymmetric Polymer Brush Coatings Bearing Fencelike Conformation Exhibit Superior Protection and Antifouling Performance

Anti-fouling surface with optimized conformation and compositional heterogeneities are presented with the goal of improving the efficacy of surface protection. The approach exploits adhesive group (thiol or catechol chain end) to anchor asymmetric polymer brushes (APBs) bearing amphiphilic side chains with synergistic non-fouling and fouling-release abilities onto surface. The conformation of APB surface is close to fence-like structure, which mimics lubricating protein lubricin, endowing surface with capacity of enhanced protection and anti-adhesive even facing the high compression of fouling. By utilizing poly(Br-acrylate-alkyne) macro-agent comprising alkynyl and 2-bromopropionate groups, we prepared a series of APB surfaces based on polyacrylate-g-poly(ethylene oxide)/poly(pentafluorophenyl methacrylate) (PA-g-PEO/PPFMA) APBs to explore the influence of content of fluorinated segment and bioinspired topological polymer chemistry on their anti-fouling performance. The APB surfaces can not only provide ...