Cross-Linking the Surface of Cured Polydimethylsiloxane via Hyperthemal Hydrogen Projectile Bombardment.
Cross-linking of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is increasingly important with recent focus on its top surface stiffness. In this paper, we demonstrate that hyperthermal hydrogen projectile bombardment, a surface sensitive cross-linking technology, is superior in enhancing the mechanical properties of a cured PDMS surface without significantly degrading its hydrophobicity. Both water contact angle measurements and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry are used to investigate the variations in surface chemistry and structure upon cross-linking. Using nanoindentation and atomic force microscopy, we confirm that the thickness of the cross-linked PDMS is controllable by the bombardment time, which opens opportunities for tuning cross-linking degree in compliance with arising requirements from the practice.
['Bao|Chao|C|', 'Xu|Ke-Qin|KQ|', 'Tang|Chang-Yu|CY|', 'Lau|Woon-ming|WM|', 'Yin|Cong-Bin|CB|', 'Zhu|Yan|Y|', 'Mei|Jun|J|', 'Lee|Jonathan|J|', 'Hui|David|D|', 'Nie|Heng-Yong|HY|', 'Liu|Yu|Y|']
cross-linking hyperthemal hydrogen projectile bombardment polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface chemistry and mechanical properties thickness of cross-linked PDMS