Synthesis and Characterization of Long Chain Fluorinated Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane (F POSS)
Abstract To be super resistant to wetting, surfaces generally require both nano and micro scale roughness, as well as low surface energy. Based on calculations, to have a smooth superoleophobic surface would require a surface energy lower than any known material. Increasing the length of the fluorinated chains may lead to molecules with even lower solid surface energies and therefore even better hydrophobic and oleophobic properties. We present the synthesis of the longest chain fluorinated POSS molecules reported: fluorododecylPOSS (FDD) The synthesis is performed via the base catalyzed, one step condensation of the corresponding trialkoxysilane.