Fluorocarbon thin film with superhydrophobic property prepared by pyrolysis of hexafluoropropylene oxide

A fluorocarbon thin film with superhydrophobic property was prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method at low temperature (200–300 °C) via pyrolysis hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO). The experiment results indicated the morphology and structure of fluorocarbon films were strongly dependent on the pyrolysis temperature. As shown through atomic force microscope (AFM), the surface morphology of the films ranged from rodlike grains to sheets. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed that all the films contained the vibrational frequencies of linear CF2 chains, which were also characteristic of bulk poly tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that CF2 structures were predominant in the films with high order. The film deposited at 300 °C exhibited a superhydrophobic surface with contact angle up to 172.7°.