Zirconia surface polymer grafting via dopamine-assisted co-deposition and radical photopolymerization

Zirconia surfaces were functionalized by polymer grafting according to a simple and successful two-steps procedure. In the first step, the initiator bearing a N,N-dimethyl amine group was grafted on the surface by co-deposition with dopamine. Secondly, different monomers such as styrene, methyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate and styrene sulfonate were polymerized on the surface using photochemical activation. The efficiency of the two steps, initiator grafting and photopolymerization, were checked by several analytical techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) and water contact angle measurements. Theses characterizations highlighted the surface chemical change after each step and the possibility to modulate surface hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity by grafting-from polymerizations.