High throughput combinatorial characterization of thermosetting siloxane-urethane coatings having spontaneously formed microtopographical surfaces

High throughput combinatorial characterization was performed on thermosetting siloxane–urethane coatings in order to find a correlation between the characterization techniques, surface topography, and adhesion strength of barnacles. A series of coatings having microtopographical surfaces with different domain sizes were prepared based on a thermosetting siloxane–urethane system. This microtopography was formed spontaneously during the film-formation process. These surfaces were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), surface energy, dynamic contact angle, and pseudo barnacle pull-off adhesion and were compared to pure polyurethane (PU) and silicone rubber control. Surface energy and dynamic contact angles were measured by an automated surface energy measurement system and pull-off adhesion values were obtained from a high throughput pull-off adhesion measurement unit. The results were compared with the adhesion strength of barnacles.