Ahmad, Jakaria, Bazaka, Katia, Oelgemöller, Michael, and Jacob, Mohan V. (2014) Wetting, solubility and chemical characteristics of plasma-polymerized 1-isopropyl-4-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene thin films. Coatings, 4 (3). pp. 527-552.

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Abstract

Investigations on the wetting, solubility and chemical composition of plasma polymer thin films provide an insight into the feasibility of implementing these polymeric materials in organic electronics, particularly where wet solution processing is involved. In this study, thin films were prepared from 1-isopropyl-4-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene (γ-Terpinene) using radio frequency (RF) plasma polymerization. FTIR showed the polymers to be structurally dissimilar to the original monomer and highly cross-linked, where the loss of original functional groups and the degree of cross-linking increased with deposition power. The polymer surfaces were hydrocarbon-rich, with oxygen present in the form of O–H and C=O functional groups. The oxygen content decreased with deposition power, with films becoming more hydrophobic and, thus, less wettable. The advancing and receding contact angles were investigated, and the water advancing contact angle was found to increase from 63.14° to 73.53° for thin films prepared with an RF power of 10 W to 75 W. The wetting envelopes for the surfaces were constructed to enable the prediction of the surfaces’ wettability for other solvents. The effect of roughness on the wetting behaviour of the films was insignificant. The polymers were determined to resist solubilization in solvents commonly used in the deposition of organic semiconducting layers, including chloroform and chlorobenzene, with higher stability observed in films fabricated at higher RF power.

Item ID:	35147
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2079-6412
Keywords:	coatings; wetting; plasma polymerization; FTIR; contact angle
Additional Information:	Copyright © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Funders:	Australian Research Council (ARC), James Cook University (JCU)
Projects and Grants:	ARC (DE130101550)
Date Deposited:	16 Sep 2014 04:41
FoR Codes:	09 ENGINEERING > 0912 Materials Engineering > 091209 Polymers and Plastics @ 100%
SEO Codes:	97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970109 Expanding Knowledge in Engineering @ 100%
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