Anti-Fouling CVD Coatings and Surface Modifications for Industrial Applications

摘要

Academia has witnessed a surge in novel coating materials and methods to control the behavior of surfaces in a variety of applications, specifically where non-stick properties (low surface energy) are desired. However, few of these innovative technologies have been adapted by industry, either due to scale, performance, or cost. This paper will introduce a fluoro-functionalized surface modification that is applied by thermal chemical vapor deposition, or CVD. This surface modification can be applied directly to substrates including stainless steel, aluminum, glass, ceramics, brass, diamond-like carbon (DLC), and more. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how the same modification can be applied as a functionalization layer onto an existing silicon, oxygen, carbon coating which is also applied by CVD. By using a vacuum thermal process instead of dip, spray, or line-of-sight methods, the CVD surface treatment lends itself to ease of processing, high volume scale-up, and uniform deposition onto complex components with narrow internal cavities, high aspect ratio features, and blind holes. Unlike solvent-based or polymeric treatments, the molecularly-bonded CVD treatment can be flexed without risk of flaking or damage. After an introduction to the surface modification and coating's compositions and deposition process, data will be presented to illustrate their performance. Real-world applications will be discussed and comparisons will be made to other low-energy surfaces and coatings.