Facile Fabrication Of Gradient Surface Based On (Meth)Acrylate Copolymer Films

This paper describes a simple and economic approach for fabrication of surface wettability gradient on poly(butyl acrylate – methyl methacrylate) [P (BA–MMA)] and poly(butyl acrylate – methyl methacrylate – 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [P (BA–MMA–HEMA)] films. The (meth)acrylate copolymer [including P (BA–MMA) and P (BA–MMA–HEMA)] films are hydrolyzed in an aqueous solution of NaOH and the transformation of surface chemical composition is achieved by hydrolysis in NaOH solution. The gradient wetting properties are generated based on different functional groups on the P (BA–MMA) and P (BA–MMA–HEMA) films. The effects of both the surface chemical and surface topography on wetting of the (meth)acrylate copolymer film are discussed. Surface chemical composition along the materials length is determined by XPS, and surface topography properties of the obtained gradient surfaces are analyzed by FESEM and AFM. Water contact angle system (WCAs) results show that the P (BA–MMA–HEMA) films provide a larger slope of the gradient wetting than P (BA–MMA). Moreover, this work demonstrates that the gradient concentration of chemical composition on the poly(meth) acrylate films is owing to the hydrolysis processes of ester group, and the hydrolysis reactions that have negligible influence on the surface morphology of the poly(meth) acrylate films coated on the glass slide. The gradient wettability surfaces may find broad applications in the field of polymer coating due to the compatibility of (meth) acrylate polymer.