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Enhancing hydrophilicity of PDMS surfaces through graphene oxide deposition

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Abstract

This study presents a simple approach to modify the wettability of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using graphene oxide (GO). The proposed method involves a series of steps including O2 plasma treatment, APTES functionalization, GO deposition, and substrate washing and drying. The presence of a GO film on the PDMS surface was confirmed by SEM, AFM, FTIR, and GO reduction using HI acid. The GO film significantly improved the water wettability of the PDMS substrates, as evidenced by a drop in water contact angle from 112° to 40°. Over the course of time, the contact angle increases to reach a value of almost 70° after 4 days before finally settling at a steady value of 82° after 9 days. Once this value was reached, no further changes were observed in the contact angle. Even with the increase in the contact angle, the proposed method shows an enhancement in the hydrophilicity of the PDMS of almost 35°. This treatment improved also the wettability of the PDMS under an oil medium where a dispensed water droplet attaches on the GO-coated PDMS surface. The versatility of this method lies in its ability to tune the wettability of PDMS, making it suitable for a diverse range of applications. For instance, it can be used to create flexible hydrophilic membranes for efficient oil/water separation or to fabricate hydrophilic microfluidic chips for biological purposes. Overall, this study offers a simple and effective approach for altering the surface properties of PDMS, expanding its potential for a wide range of applications.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Khalifa University through Competitive Internal Research Award (CIRA 2020-034). The authors are grateful to Professor Tiejun Zhang for his support related to FTIR spectroscopy, Dr Thomas Delclos and Dr. Abdelhakim Elmhamdi for their support in the XPS analysis, Dr Cyril Aubry for his support in the cross-sectional SEM, and Mr. Firdous Ahmad Deader for his support in the AFM measurements.

Funding

Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, CIRA 2020-034, Nahla Alamoodi

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Elie Ayoub, Fadi Dawaymeh, Maryam Khaleel & Nahla Alamoodi

  2. Center for Catalysis and Separations (CeCaS), Khalifa University of Science and Technology, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Elie Ayoub & Nahla Alamoodi

  3. Research and Innovation Center on CO2 and H2 (RICH), Khalifa University of Science and Technology, PO Box 127788, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Maryam Khaleel

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  1. Elie Ayoub
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  2. Fadi Dawaymeh
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  4. Nahla Alamoodi
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Contributions

Elie Ayoub contributed to conceptualization, methodology, validation, investigation, writing—original draft, and visualization. Fadi Dawaymeh contributed to investigation. Maryam Khaleel contributed to writing—review and editing, and supervision. Nahla Alamoodi contributed to conceptualization, methodology, writing—review and editing, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Nahla Alamoodi.

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Ayoub, E., Dawaymeh, F., Khaleel, M. et al. Enhancing hydrophilicity of PDMS surfaces through graphene oxide deposition. J Mater Sci 59, 8205–8219 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-024-09695-1

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