Multifunctional Stretchable Plasma Polymer Modified PDMS Interface for Mechanically Responsive Materials

New stretchable reactive surfaces are developed as platforms for the design of mechanically responsive materials. These surfaces are based on elastic PDMS elastomer substrates. Plasma polymerization leads to the attachment of reactive functionalities on the surface. We show that such functionalised PDMS surfaces exhibit pH-dependent acid-base properties due to the dicarboxylic acid groups. Both contact angle and force measurements highlight the dilution effect of the surface concentration of reactive groups induced by substrate elongation. We show, in particular, that the surfaces can be rendered antifouling by tailoring them with poly(ethylene glycol) ((M) over bar (w) = 2000) and that the antifouling strength depends upon the elongation of the substrate.