Preparation of glass surfaces with controlled liquid affinity and photosensitive wetting properties

Abstract

Many procedures relay on specific wetting properties. Surface functionalization is an effective mechanism by which surface properties can be modified, including wettability. It is well known that functionalization using silane self-assembled monolayers can change SiO2 from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. We have studied three different mechanisms with which glass can be provided with specific water affinity: controlled monolayer degradation, deposition of short and long-chain alkylsilane mixtures and modification of the monolayer structures employing isomerization of photosensitive silanes . The study was carried out using contact angle measurements, ellipsometry and UV-Visible spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that with different molar fractions of varying chain-length alkylsilanes, different contact angle values can be obtained. Photosensitive glass slides also showed promising results as the wetting properties changed when isomerization was induced. The effect that the monolayer degradation has over wetting could not be proved due to lack of proper equipment.