Wettability characteristics variation of PMMA by means of CO2 laser generated surface patterns

Waugh, David and Lawrence, Jonathan (2009) Wettability characteristics variation of PMMA by means of CO2 laser generated surface patterns. In: ICALEO 2009, 2nd - 5th November 2009, Orlando, FL, USA..

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Item Type:Conference or Workshop contribution (Paper)
Item Status:Live Archive

Abstract

CO2 lasers can be seen to lend themselves to materials processing applications and have been used extensively in research and industry. This work investigated the surface modification of PMMA with a CO2 laser in order to vary wettability characteristics. The wettability characteristics of the PMMA were modified by generating a number of patterns of various topography on the sample surfaces using a CO2 laser. Through white light interferometry it was found that for all laser patterned samples the surface roughness had significantly increased by up to 3.1 μm. The chemical composition of selected samples were explored using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and found that the surface oxygen content had risen by approximately 4% At. By using a sessile drop device it was found that 50 μm dimensions gave rise to a more hydrophilic surface; whereas 100 μm dimensions gave rise to either no change or an increase in contact angle making the PMMA hydrophobic. This can be explained by the possibility of different wetting regimes taking place owed to the variation of topographies over the as-received and laser patterned samples

Additional Information:CO2 lasers can be seen to lend themselves to materials processing applications and have been used extensively in research and industry. This work investigated the surface modification of PMMA with a CO2 laser in order to vary wettability characteristics. The wettability characteristics of the PMMA were modified by generating a number of patterns of various topography on the sample surfaces using a CO2 laser. Through white light interferometry it was found that for all laser patterned samples the surface roughness had significantly increased by up to 3.1 μm. The chemical composition of selected samples were explored using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and found that the surface oxygen content had risen by approximately 4% At. By using a sessile drop device it was found that 50 μm dimensions gave rise to a more hydrophilic surface; whereas 100 μm dimensions gave rise to either no change or an increase in contact angle making the PMMA hydrophobic. This can be explained by the possibility of different wetting regimes taking place owed to the variation of topographies over the as-received and laser patterned samples
Keywords:PMMA, laser surface patterning, Wettability
Subjects:F Physical Sciences > F200 Materials Science
J Technologies > J511 Engineering Materials
J Technologies > J410 Polymers Technology
Divisions:College of Science > School of Engineering
ID Code:3829
Deposited On:13 Jan 2011 17:59

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