Physics Commons^™

Wetting Properties Induced In Nano-Composite Poss-Ma Polymer Films By Atomic Layer Deposited Oxides, Kyle A. Vasquez, Anita J. Vincent-Johnson, W. Chris Hughes, Brian H. Augustine, Kyoungmi Lee, Gregory N. Parsons, Giovanna Scarel

Department of Physics and Astronomy - Faculty Scholarship

Due to their unique properties, nano-composite polyhedral oligomeric silsequioxane (POSS) copolymer films are attractive for various applications. Here we show that their natural hydrophobic character can become hydrophilic when the films are modified by a thin oxide layer, up to 8 nm thick, prepared using atomic layer deposition. A proper choice of the deposition temperature and thickness of the oxide layer are required to achieve this goal. Unlike other polymeric systems, a marked transition to a hydrophilic state is observed with oxide layers deposited at increasing temperatures up to the glass transition temperature (∼110 °C) of the POSS copolymer film. …