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Surface and wetting characteristics of textured bisphenol‐A based polycarbonate surfaces: Acetone‐induced crystallization texturing methods
Author(s) -
Owais Ahmed,
Khaled Mazen M.,
Yilbas Bekir S.,
AbuDheir Numan,
Varanasi Kripa K.,
Toumi Kamal Y.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.43074
Subject(s) - contact angle , materials science , polycarbonate , crystallization , wetting , acetone , transmittance , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , chemical engineering , composite material , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , optoelectronics , engineering
ABSTRACT Polycarbonate (PC) sheet is a promising material for facile patterning to induce hydrophobic self‐cleaning and dust repelling properties for photovoltaic panels’ protection. An investigation to texture PC sheet surfaces to develop a self‐cleaning structure using solvent induced‐crystallization is carried out using acetone. Acetone is applied in both liquid and vapor states to generate a hierarchically structured surface that would improve its contacts angle and therefore improve hydrophobicity. The surface texture is investigated and characterized using atomic force microscopy, contact angle technique (Goniometer), optical microscopy, ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopy (UV–vis) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The findings revealed that the liquid acetone‐induced crystallization of PC surface leads to a hierarchal and hydrophobic surface with an average contact angle of 135° and average transmittance <2%. However, the acetone vapor induced‐crystallization results in a slightly hydrophilic hierarchal textured surface with high transmittance; in which case, average contact angle of 89° and average transmittance of 69% are achieved. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133 , 43074.