Preparation of polytetrafluoroethylene by pulsed electron ablation: Deposition and wettability aspects

Polytetrafluoroethylene (FIFE) has been prepared by pulsed electron deposition technique on glass and silicon substrates. Deposition of the thin films has been carried out in the temperature range from room temperature to 300 degrees C, pressure range from 133.32x 10(-3) Pa to 799.93 x 10(-3) Pa, and discharge voltages between 10 kV and 16 kV. Argon or nitrogen has been used as a background gas during the deposition of the films. Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy shows absorption peaks in the films at 644 cm(-1), 1154 cm(-1) and 1210 cm(-1) consistent with those of PTFE target material. Atomic force microscopy and spectroscopic reflectometry reveal the clustered nature of the films and other morphological characteristics. Surface wettability of the films, expressed via the contact angle, has been measured via static angle goniometry. PTFE films increase the contact angle from about 32 degrees (bare glass) and 43 degrees (bare silicon) to up to 90 degrees and 110 degrees for FIFE-coated glass and silicon substrates, respectively. The contact angle decreases with an increase in both pressure and temperature, while it increases then decreases as the discharge voltage increases. Crown (C) Copyright 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.