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Iodization‐Induced Reversible Wettability in Nanostructured Ag Films
Author(s) -
Ravipati Praveena,
Vanjarana S. Sameera,
Purkayastha Debarun D.,
Mamidipudi Ghanashyam K.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201700335
Subject(s) - wetting , contact angle , materials science , surface roughness , wetting transition , irradiation , chemical engineering , composite material , physics , nuclear physics , engineering
Ag films of 5 nm thickness were iodized for durations up to 3 h leading to the formation of β‐AgI structure. The water contact angle (WCA) for the un‐iodized and as‐deposited Ag film was 107.2° which is decreased to 70.7° on iodization for 3 h. In contrast, the Ag films annealed at 300 °C for 2 h prior to iodization showed a water contact angle of 40.3°. The WCA decreased further to 14.9° after iodization for 3 h. This hydrophobic–hydrophilic transition can be related to the chemical modification of the surface change in crystal structure and variation in surface roughness. Significantly, the films also exhibited reversible wettabilty under UV irradiation.