Molecular simulations on the hydration and underwater oleophobicity of
zwitterionic self-assembled monolayers
Abstract
Zwitterionic materials have attracted increasing attentions in the
underwater super-oleophobic applications for its strong hydration via
electrostatic interactions. Herein, molecular dynamics simulations were
used to investigate the hydration and underwater oleophobicity of
sulfobetaine-terminated self-assembled monolayers (SB-SAMs) with
different carbon spacer lengths (CSL) between oppositely charged groups
of SB molecules. Simulation results show that the hydration of SB-SAMs
is positively dependent on CSL; the underwater oleophobicity is
strengthened and then weakened with the increase of CSL, reaching
optimal performance when CSL = 3; Adhesion force of oil droplet on
SB-SAMs is inversely correlated with their contact angles, reaching the
minimum value when CSL = 3. Moreover, the addition of NaCl can weaken
the self-association of SB molecules resulted from interactions between
cationic and anionic groups, which promotes hydration and enhances
underwater oleophobicity of SB-SAMs. These results will benefit for the
design of novel zwitterion-based materials for anti-fouling and
oil-water separation applications.