UV-laserbasierte Oberflächenfluorierung von Polymeren

The method of direct fluorination of polymeric components utilizing fluorine gas is an established tool for the adjustment of the free surface energy of these structures. With this tool, the contact angle of various liquids on these surfaces can be modified. If it is intended to fluorinate the surface only locally, the method of direct fluorination is not suitable. In this work, a novel process was investigated, which allows a local fluorination of a polymeric surface in a single process step. The polymer is exposed to a precursor gas, which contains bonded fluorine. The fluorine can be dissociated via UV photons. The generated fluorine radicals mainly react with the polymer surface close to their point of origin. Depending on the UV intensity distribution, the shape of the locally fluorinated area on the surface can be determined. With the investigated process, hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas can be generated on polymer surfaces, which i. e. can be used in the field of liquid sample handling of very small volumes.