Thermal/plasma-driven reversible wettability switching of a bare gold film on a poly(dimethylsiloxane) surface by electroless plating

Langmuir. 2010 Jan 19;26(2):1191-8. doi: 10.1021/la902332q.

Abstract

We report an approach for fabricating a tunable wettability surface by electroless gold plating on poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). A two-layer structured gold film with a tight layer and a loose layer can be obtained on the surface of a PDMS chip when the PDMS chip is immersed in a gold plating solution at 30 degrees C for 4 h. Its wettability can be rapidly switched between superhydrophilicity and superhydrophobicity by plasma and heat treatments without any self-assembled monolayer, and the superhydrophobicity can be even changed from the gecko-foot-hair-like character to the lotus-leaf-like character. Benefiting from the various wettabilities of the prepared gold/PDMS composites, protein patterning is successfully achieved on a patterned superhydrophobic/superhydrophilic gold/PDMS composite; a superhydrophobic needle for transferring supersmall water droplets (1 microL) to a superhydrophobic surface is successfully fabricated.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes / chemistry*
  • Electrochemistry
  • Gold / chemistry*
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Photoelectron Spectroscopy
  • Temperature
  • Thermogravimetry
  • Wettability

Substances

  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes
  • Gold