Reversible Control of Free Energy and Topography of Nanostructured Surfaces

• Published in: Journal of the American Chemical Society 2004-07, Vol.126 (29), p.8904-8905
• Main Authors: Fu, Qiang, Rama Rao, G. V, Basame, Solomon B, Keller, David J, Artyushkova, Kateryna, Fulghum, Julia E, López, Gabriel P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acrylic Resins - chemistry; Aluminum Oxide - chemistry; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Microscopy, Atomic Force; Nanotechnology - methods; Physics; Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces; Surface energy; thermodynamic properties; Surface Properties; Surface structure and topography; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thermodynamics
• ISSN: 0002-7863; 1520-5126
• DOI: 10.1021/ja047895q

We describe a facile method for the formation of dynamic nanostructured surfaces based on the modification of porous anodic aluminum oxide with poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAAm) via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The dynamic structure of these surfaces was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), which showed dramatic changes in the surface nanostructure above and below the aqueous lower critical solution temperature of PNIPAAm. These changes in surface structure are correlated with changes in the macroscopic wettability of the surfaces, which was probed by water contact angle measurements. Principal component analysis was used to develop a quantitative correlation between AFM image intensity histograms and macroscopic wettability. Such correlations and dynamic nanostructured surfaces may have a variety of uses.