Boron Cluster Oriented Superhydrophobic Surfaces
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Hydrophobic coatings are critical for applications spanning anti-fouling and selfcleaning technologies. Conventional fluorinated materials rely on complex fabrication methods and often lack mechanical robustness and scalability. Here, we report a new class of solution-processable fluorinated coatings based on atomically precise closo-dodecaborate clusters densely functionalized with fluorinated carbon chains. Our approach to fabricating these boron oriented superhydrophobic surfaces (BOSS) coatings is based on flexible chemical design, allowing for tailored functionalization and easy scalability. This molecular design enables unprecedented chain packing density, yielding coating with surface free energy around 13 mJ/m2 and excellent water repellency. The coatings exhibit thermally triggered, controllable degradation, along with electrochemical activity, fire retardancy, and mechanical durability when applied to common substrates, providing a viable alternative to conventional fluoropolymer systems. Our findings establish three-dimensional boron cluster as effective scaffold for high-density functional group incorporation, enabling the design of robust, next-generation advanced coatings.
Source: ChemRxiv
Language: English
Subfield: Surfaces, Coatings and Films
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7160537866