Wetting and Adhesion Properties of Organic Monolayer Modified Nano-Topography-Engineered Surfaces

This paper reports a study of wetting and adhesion properties of nano-topography-engineered surfaces (NTES) modified with Octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Samples of various surface topographies were fabricated using aluminum-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon (a-Si) technique by changing process parameters. The effects of surface topography on the wetting and adhesion properties were investigated. The results showed that surface wetting and adhesion properties were significantly improved for OTS modified NTES surfaces compared to OTS modified smooth silicon surfaces, and there is a direct correlation between surface morphology, and the wetting and adhesion properties of surfaces. Superhydrophobic surfaces with water contact angle (WCA) of 155° were achieved at optimum surface texture area coverage.