Modification of PET surfaces with self-assembled monolayers of organosilane precursors

Published

May 13, 2009

Author(s)

Daniel A. Fischer, Ali Ozcam, Kirill Effimenko, Cherno Jaye, Richard Spontak, Jan Genzer

Abstract

We report on a facile, robust and rapid method by which poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) surfaces can be chemically modified while avoiding chemical degradation. Specifically, we demonstrate that brief exposure of PET surfaces to ultraviolet/ozone (UVO) generates a large surface concentration of hydrophilic moieties that serve as points of chemical attachment, thereby facilitating subsequent chemisorption of organosilane precursors. The feasibility of this methodology is tested by decorating UVO-modified PET surfaces with semifluorinated organosilane (SFOS) molecules, which serve to alter the surface energy of PET without compromising its bulk characteristics. The physico-chemical properties of the SFOS layers attached to PET are studied with a palette of experimental probes, including near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy, contact angle, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and ellipsometry. Experimental results indicate that ≈2 min of UVO treatment is optimal for covering PET with dense self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of SFOS. Longer UVO treatment times contaminate and correspondingly roughen PET surfaces with low-molecular weight organic compounds (LMWOCs) generated from degradation of the topmost PET material. As a consequence, SFOS SAMs attached to the LMWOC layer wash off readily from UVO-treated PET.

Citation

Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena

Volume

172

Issue

1-3

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), ultraviolet/ozone (UVO), polymer surface modification, SAM, NEXAFS

Citation

Fischer, D. , Ozcam, A. , Effimenko, K. , Jaye, C. , Spontak, R. and Genzer, J. (2009), Modification of PET surfaces with self-assembled monolayers of organosilane precursors, Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=901679 (Accessed October 9, 2025)