Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Preparation Of Functional Surfaces, Philip Thomas Dirlam

Master's Theses

Diels-Alder chemistry was utilized to manipulate the surface energy of glass substrates in reversible manner. Glass slides and capillaries were functionalized with hydrophobic dieneophiles resulting in a non-wetting surface. A retro Diels-Alder reaction facilitated by the thermal treatment of the surface’s function to cleave the hydrophobic dieneophile and resulted in the fabrication of a hydrophilic surface. Contact angle (CA) measurements were used as preliminary measurements for monitoring the changes in surface energy exhibited during the initial hydrophobic state (CA - 70±3°), after attachment of the dieneophile creating a hydrophobic state (CA - 101±9°) followed by reestablishment of the hydrophilic state …