Effect of the Addition of Propanol to PVC Solution on the Structure of Thin Film and its Surface Property

Polyvinylchloride (PVC) thin films having a microporous structure could be prepared by using the solubility difference in solvents. PVC thin film with a water contact angle of 150° or more was obtained from the PVC solution consisting of the mixture of tetrahydrofuran as a solvent and propanol as a non-solvent. In the drying process of dip-coated PVC film, the increase of drying temperature reduced the tendency of roughened surface, which led the decrease of surface hydrophobicity. As the addi- tion of propanol in the solution with 1 wt% PVC increased, the uniformity of surface roughness was improved. In the case of oxygen plasma treatments, even though the surface structure of PVC thin film was not notably changed, the surface property of the film was changed from the super-hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity as a function of the plasma exposing time.