Omniphobic Low Moisture Permeation Transparent Polyacrylate/Silica Nanocomposite

We report the development of low moisture permeation and transparent dense polyacrylate/silica nanocomposite material that can exhibit both superhydrophobic and oleophobic (omniphobic) properties. The material was prepared by a three-step process. The first step involved the preparation of UV polymerizable solventless hybrid resin and the fabrication of nanocomposite. The hybrid resin consisted of a mixture of acrylate monomer, initiator, and acrylate-modified different size silica nanoparticles. The second step was to roughen the surface of the nanocomposite with unique nanotexture by oxygen plasma. In the third step, we applied a low surface tension fluoro monolayer on the treated surface. The nanocomposite exhibits desired superhydrophobicity and oleophobicity with a water contact angle of 158.2° and n-1-octadecene contact angle of 128.5°, respectively; low moisture permeation of 1.44 g·mm/m(2)·day; and good transparency (greater than 82% at 450-800 nm for ~60 μm film). The material has potential applications in optoelectronic encapsulation, self-cleaning coating, etc.