scholarly journals Versatile and Selective Fluorination of the Surface of Polymeric Materials After Stereolithography 3D Printing

Author(s):  
Megan Catterton ◽  
Alyssa N. Montalbine ◽  
Rebecca Pompano

With the microfluidics community embracing 3D resin printing as a rapid fabrication method, controlling surface chemistry has emerged as a new challenge. Fluorination of 3D printed surfaces is highly desirable in many applications due to chemical inertness, low friction coefficients, anti-fouling properties and the potential for selective hydrophobic patterning. Despite sporadic reports, silanization methods have not been optimized for covalent bonding with polymeric resins. As a case study, we tested the silanization of a commercially available (meth)acrylate-based resin (BV-007A) with a fluoroalkyl trichlorosilane. Interestingly, plasma oxidation was unnecessary for silanization of this resin, and indeed was ineffective. Solvent-based deposition in a fluorinated oil (FC-40) generated significantly higher contact angles than deposition in ethanol or gas-phase deposition, yielding hydrophobic surfaces with contact angle > 110˚ under optimized conditions. Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy indicated that the increase in contact angle correlated with consumption of a carbonyl moiety, suggesting covalent bonding of the silane without plasma oxidation. Consistent with a covalent bond, the silanization was resistant to mechanical damage and hydrolysis in methanol, and was stable over long-term storage. When tested on a suite of photocrosslinkable resins, this silanization protocol generated highly hydrophobic surfaces (contact angle > 110˚) on three resins and moderate hydrophobicity (90 – 100˚) on the remainder. Selective patterning of hydrophobic regions in an open 3D-printed microchannel was possible in combination with simple masking techniques. Thus, this facile fluorination strategy is expected to be applicable for resin-printed materials in a variety of contexts including micropatterning and multiphase microfluidics.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Catterton ◽  
Alyssa N. Montalbine ◽  
Rebecca Pompano

With the microfluidics community embracing 3D resin printing as a rapid fabrication method, controlling surface chemistry has emerged as a new challenge. Fluorination of 3D printed surfaces is highly desirable in many applications due to chemical inertness, low friction coefficients, anti-fouling properties and the potential for selective hydrophobic patterning. Despite sporadic reports, silanization methods have not been optimized for covalent bonding with polymeric resins. As a case study, we tested the silanization of a commercially available (meth)acrylate-based resin (BV-007A) with a fluoroalkyl trichlorosilane. Interestingly, plasma oxidation was unnecessary for silanization of this resin, and indeed was ineffective. Solvent-based deposition in a fluorinated oil (FC-40) generated significantly higher contact angles than deposition in ethanol or gas-phase deposition, yielding hydrophobic surfaces with contact angle > 110˚ under optimized conditions. Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy indicated that the increase in contact angle correlated with consumption of a carbonyl moiety, suggesting covalent bonding of the silane without plasma oxidation. Consistent with a covalent bond, the silanization was resistant to mechanical damage and hydrolysis in methanol, and was stable over long-term storage. When tested on a suite of photocrosslinkable resins, this silanization protocol generated highly hydrophobic surfaces (contact angle > 110˚) on three resins and moderate hydrophobicity (90 – 100˚) on the remainder. Selective patterning of hydrophobic regions in an open 3D-printed microchannel was possible in combination with simple masking techniques. Thus, this facile fluorination strategy is expected to be applicable for resin-printed materials in a variety of contexts including micropatterning and multiphase microfluidics.


2012 ◽  
Vol 562-564 ◽  
pp. 56-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Zhuang ◽  
Meng Meng Du ◽  
Heng Zhi Cai ◽  
Ya Jun Zhang ◽  
Da Ming Wu

A facile method for manufacturing super hydrophobic surfaces is presented using the stainless steel wire mesh as templates. The rough surfaces of polymers including polycarbonate, polypropylene and PMMA are prepared with hot embossing on different specifications of stainless steel wire mesh. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results reveal that the surfaces roughness of the polymers can be controlled by selecting templates. Contact angle measurement shows that the water contact angles(WCA) rise with the increase of surface roughness, especially, the water contact angle on the PC surfaces prepared with specifications of 635mesh screen can reach to 152.3°, alias super hydrophobic surfaces.


2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Auro Ashish Saha ◽  
Sushanta K. Mitra

A two-dimensional numerical simulation of flow in patterned microchannel with alternate layers of different sizes of hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces at the bottom wall is conducted here. The effect of specified contact angle and working fluid (de-ionized (DI) water and ethanol) on capillary phenomena is observed here. The volume of fluid method is used for simulating the free surface flow in the microchannel. Meniscus profiles with varying amplitude and shapes are obtained under the different specified surface conditions. Nonsymmetric meniscus profiles are obtained by changing the contact angles of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. A meniscus stretching parameter is defined here and its relation to the capillary phenomena in the microchannel is discussed. Flow variation increases as the fluid traverses alternately between the hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. The pattern size and the surface tension of the fluid are found to have significant influence on the capillary phenomena in the patterned microchannel. Smaller pattern size produces enhanced capillary effect with DI water, whereas no appreciable gain is observed for ethanol. The magnitude of maximum velocity along the channel height varies considerably with the pattern size and the contact angle. Also, the rms velocity is found to be higher for smaller alternate patterned microchannel. The meniscus average velocity difference at the top and bottom walls increases for a dimensionless pattern size of 0.6 and thereafter it decreases with the increase in pattern size in the case of DI water with hydrophilic-hydrophobic pattern. Using such patterned microchannel, it is possible to manipulate and optimize fluid flow in microfluidic devices, which require enhanced mixing for performing biological reactions.


Coatings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Calabrese ◽  
Amani Khaskhoussi ◽  
Salvatore Patane ◽  
Edoardo Proverbio

Superhydrophobicity is one of the most required surface properties for a wide range of application such as self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, oil-water separation, anti-icing, and anti-bioadhesion. Recently, several methods have been developed to produce nature inspired super-hydrophobic surfaces. Nevertheless, these methods require a complicated process and expensive equipment. In order to overcome these issues, we propose three different methods to obtain nature-inspired super-hydrophobic surfaces: short-term treatment with boiling water, HF/HCl and HNO3/HCl concentrated solution etching. Afterwards, a thin layer of octadecylsilane was applied by in situ polymerization on all pre-treated surfaces. Eventually, all substrates were dried for 3 h at 100 °C to complete the silane curing. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measuring system and atomic force microscope (AFM) were used to characterize the surfaces. Surface morphology analysis showed that each method results in a specific dual hierarchical nano-/micro-structure. The corresponding water contact angles ranged from 160° to nearly 180°. The best results were observed for HF etched Al 6082 surface were water contact angle above 175° was achieved. Furthermore, a scheme able to assess the relationship between hydrophobic behavior and surface morphology was finally proposed.


Author(s):  
Rami Benkreif ◽  
Fatima Zohra Brahmia ◽  
Csilla Csiha

AbstractSurface tension of solid wood surfaces affects the wettability and thus the adhesion of various adhesives and wood coatings. By measuring the contact angle of the wood, the surface tension can be calculated based on the Young-Dupré equation. Several publications have reported on contact angle measured with different test liquids, under different conditions. Results can only be compared if the test conditions are similar. While the roles of the drop volume, image shooting time etc., are widely recognized, the role of the wood surface moisture content (MC) is not evaluated in detail. In this study, the effect of wood moisture content on contact angle values, measured with distilled water and diiodomethane, on sanded birch (Betula pendula) surfaces was investigated, in order to find the relationship between them. With increasing MC from approximately 6% to 30%, increasing contact angle (decreasing surface tension) values were measured according to a logarithmic function. The function makes possible the calculation of contact angles that correspond to different MCs.


Biomimetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Quentin Legrand ◽  
Stephane Benayoun ◽  
Stephane Valette

This investigation of morphology-wetting links was performed using a biomimetic approach. Three natural leaves’ surfaces were studied: two bamboo varieties and Ginkgo Biloba. Multiscale surface topographies were analyzed by SEM observations, FFT, and Gaussian filtering. A PDMS replicating protocol of natural surfaces was proposed in order to study the purely morphological contribution to wetting. High static contact angles, close to 135∘, were measured on PDMS replicated surfaces. Compared to flat PDMS, the increase in static contact angle due to purely morphological contribution was around 20∘. Such an increase in contact angle was obtained despite loss of the nanometric scale during the replication process. Moreover, a significant decrease of the hysteresis contact angle was measured on PDMS replicas. The value of the contact angle hysteresis moved from 40∘ for flat PDMS to less than 10∘ for textured replicated surfaces. The wetting behavior of multiscale textured surfaces was then studied in the frame of the Wenzel and Cassie–Baxter models. Whereas the classical laws made it possible to describe the wetting behavior of the ginkgo biloba replications, a hierarchical model was developed to depict the wetting behavior of both bamboo species.


Author(s):  
Karthik Babu ◽  
Oisik Das ◽  
Vigneshwaran Shanmugam ◽  
Rhoda Afriye Mensah ◽  
Michael Försth ◽  
...  

Abstract3D printing or additive manufacturing (AM) is considered as a flexible manufacturing method with the potential for substantial innovations in fabricating geometrically complicated structured polymers, metals, and ceramics parts. Among them, polymeric composites show versatility for applications in various fields, such as constructions, microelectronics and biomedical. However, the poor resistance of these materials against fire must be considered due to their direct relation to human life conservation and safety. In this article, the recent advances in the fire behavior of 3D-printed polymeric composites are reviewed. The article describes the recently developed methods for improving the flame retardancy of 3D-printed polymeric composites. Consequently, the improvements in the fire behavior of 3D-printed polymeric materials through the change in formulation of the composites are discussed. The article is novel in the sense that it is one of the first studies to provide an overview regarding the flammability characteristics of 3D-printed polymeric materials, which will further incite research interests to render AM-based materials fire-resistant.


2020 ◽  
Vol 146 ◽  
pp. 03004
Author(s):  
Douglas Ruth

The most influential parameter on the behavior of two-component flow in porous media is “wettability”. When wettability is being characterized, the most frequently used parameter is the “contact angle”. When a fluid-drop is placed on a solid surface, in the presence of a second, surrounding fluid, the fluid-fluid surface contacts the solid-surface at an angle that is typically measured through the fluid-drop. If this angle is less than 90°, the fluid in the drop is said to “wet” the surface. If this angle is greater than 90°, the surrounding fluid is said to “wet” the surface. This definition is universally accepted and appears to be scientifically justifiable, at least for a static situation where the solid surface is horizontal. Recently, this concept has been extended to characterize wettability in non-static situations using high-resolution, two-dimensional digital images of multi-component systems. Using simple thought experiments and published experimental results, many of them decades old, it will be demonstrated that contact angles are not primary parameters – their values depend on many other parameters. Using these arguments, it will be demonstrated that contact angles are not the cause of wettability behavior but the effect of wettability behavior and other parameters. The result of this is that the contact angle cannot be used as a primary indicator of wettability except in very restricted situations. Furthermore, it will be demonstrated that even for the simple case of a capillary interface in a vertical tube, attempting to use simply a two-dimensional image to determine the contact angle can result in a wide range of measured values. This observation is consistent with some published experimental results. It follows that contact angles measured in two-dimensions cannot be trusted to provide accurate values and these values should not be used to characterize the wettability of the system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mehran Mirmohammadi ◽  
Sasha Hoshian ◽  
Ville P. Jokinen ◽  
Sami Franssila

AbstractA polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Cu superhydrophobic composite material is fabricated by wet etching, electroless plating, and polymer casting. The surface topography of the material emerges from hierarchical micro/nanoscale structures of etched aluminum, which are rigorously copied by plated copper. The resulting material is superhydrophobic (contact angle > 170°, sliding angle < 7° with 7 µL droplets), electrically conductive, elastic and wear resistant. The mechanical durability of both the superhydrophobicity and the metallic conductivity are the key advantages of this material. The material is robust against mechanical abrasion (1000 cycles): the contact angles were only marginally lowered, the sliding angles remained below 10°, and the material retained its superhydrophobicity. The resistivity varied from 0.7 × 10–5 Ωm (virgin) to 5 × 10–5 Ωm (1000 abrasion cycles) and 30 × 10–5 Ωm (3000 abrasion cycles). The material also underwent 10,000 cycles of stretching and bending, which led to only minor changes in superhydrophobicity and the resistivity remained below 90 × 10–5 Ωm.


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