Engineered partially open-cage fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane hybrid nanoparticle aggregates for surfaces with super-repellency to widespread liquids

From an engineering viewpoint, to form a surface with super-repellency to widespread liquids, the decoration of fluorinated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (FPOSS) as the lowest surface energy molecule on microparticles or nanoparticles is of extensive scientific and technological significance. However, the unique structure of FPOSS makes itself only useable in some eco-unfriendly and high-cost solvents, which hinders the implementation of the decoration in an easy-to-use way. To address this, a partially open-cage FPOSS bearing a pair of -OH (poc-FPOSS-2OH) is designed. Subsequently, the poc-FPOSS-nanoparticle (poc-FPOSSNP) hybrid aggregates with Si-O, Ti-O or Zr-O frameworks are harvested by co-polycondensation of poc-FPOSS-2OH and the corresponding framework precursor. The poc-FPOSS-2OH and poc-FPOSS-NP hybrid aggregates both allow good solubility or dispersion in a variety of eco-friendly and low-cost common solvents, that is, they are easy to use. Owing to the easy-to-use character (intimately related to the residual -OH), the poc-FPOSS-NP hybrid aggregates are universally compatible with a range of waterborne and solventborne resin systems for fabricating super-repellent surfaces. The super-repellency of the poc-FPOSS-NP hybrid aggregate-based surfaces to widespread liquids is discussed in terms of the surface tension and viscosity strength of liquids, as well as diverse non-Newtonian liquids. It is considered that the -OH directly connected to the open-cage site is critical to poc-FPOSS-2OH with a balance between ultralow surface energy and easy-to-use attribute. Through the corrosion protection and anti-bacteria tests, the poc-FPOSS-NP hybrid aggregate-based super-repellent surfaces are demonstrated to be practical and reliable in real-world applications. This work sheds light on the engineering potentials of the FPOSS-based super-repellent surfaces, as well as advances the flexible and versatile design of the superwetting solid surfaces/interfaces.