This work employs the method of remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) to obtain silicon-organic polymer-like coatings with varying chemical structures. The aim of the work is to investigate the physicochemical properties of the coatings and to evaluate the prospects for their use as medical materials. The coatings were deposited in two modes using a plasma-chemical system based on a glow discharge sustained in a flow of a mixture of argon and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO). In the first mode (discharge current of 40 mA, HMDSO flow rate of 1.3 cm3/min), polymethylsiloxane coatings (PMS) were obtained with atomic concentrations of carbon, silicon, and oxygen of 54.6, 26.7, and 18.7%, respectively. In the second mode (discharge current of 60 mA, HMDSO flow rate of 0.13 cm3/min), polymethylhydroxysiloxane coatings (PMHS) were deposited with atomic concentrations of carbon, silicon, and oxygen of 37.9, 27.1, and 35.0%, respectively. PMSC is a hydrophobic coating with a water contact angle of 101°, surface energy of 16 mN/m, a relatively low density of 1.1 g/cm3, and a hardness of 0.11 GPa. PMHSC demonstrated hydrophilic properties with a water contact angle of 71°, and possesses a relatively high density of 1.7 g/cm3 and a hardness of 0.38 GPa. The properties of the coatings are consistent with their chemical composition. The obtained coatings are promising for solving various applied problems in biomaterials science.
Zuza et al. (Mon,) studied this question.