Recovery Behavior of Microstructured Thiol-Ene Shape-Memory Film

Electrical Characterization of Thin PEDOT:PSS Films on Alumina and Thiol-Ene Substrates

Transparent polymer layers that heal minor scratches and maintain the optical properties of the devices for a long time are highly desirable in optoelectronics. This paper presents the results of the electrical characterization of thin PEDOT:PSS films on the novel, optically transparent thiol-ene substrates capable of healing scratches under room-temperature conditions. Electrical properties of the PEDOT:PSS films deposited on the conventional alumina ceramic substrates were also tested for comparative purposes. This study demonstrated that the substrate can have a significant effect on the electrical properties of PEDOT:PSS films, and the electrical resistance of the films on thiol-ene substrates is not as stable as on alumina ceramics. However, the changes in electrical resistance of the films on thiol-ene are small enough over a sufficiently wide range of operating temperatures and relative humidities and allow the application of such bilayers in various polymeric optoelectronic devices.

Trilayer Composite System Based on SiO2, Thiol-Ene, and PEDOT:PSS. Focus on Stability after Thermal Treatment and Solar Irradiance

The trilayer composite was fabricated by combining functional layers of fumed SiO₂, thiol-ene, and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS). Optical, scratch-healing, non-wetting, and electrical stability was investigated at different instances of time after thermal and solar irradiance treatment. The trilayer composite was found to be optically stable and highly transparent for visible light after thermal and irradiance treatment for 25 h. Both treatment processes had a minor effect on the shape-memory assisted scratch-healing performance of the trilayer composite. Thermal treatment and solar irradiance did not affect the superhydrophobic properties (contact angle 170 ± 1°) of the trilayer composite. The sheet resistance increased from 90 ± 3 Ω/square (initial) to 109 ± 3 Ω/square (thermal) and 149 ± 3 Ω/square (irradiance) after 25 h of treatment, which was considered as not significant change.

Free-Standing Composite Films Based on Thiol-Ene and PEDOT: PSS Layers for Optoelectronic Applications

Free-standing composite films were fabricated by combining the plane parallel layers of thiol-ene based on pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate)-1,3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione (PETMP-TTT) UV curable polymer and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) conductive polymer. A systematic analysis was performed with the focus on mechanical performance of the free-standing composite films. The PEDOT:PSS/PETMP-TTT composite exhibited higher values of adhesion force compared to the free-standing PETMP-TTT film due to hydrophilic nature of the PEDOT:PSS layer. The composite was found to be highly transparent in the range of 380-800 nm. The Young's modulus and tensile strength of PETMP-TTT were found to be 3.6 ± 0.4 GPa and 19 ± 3 MPa, while for PEDOT:PSS/PETMP-TTT to be 3.5 ± 0.3 GPa and 20 ± 3 MPa, respectively. The sheet resistance values of the PEDOT:PSS layer in the composite film were found to be highly stable after a number of bending iterations with slight increase in sheet resistance from 108 to 118 ± 2 Ω/□. The resultant PEDOT:PSS/PETMP-TTT composite can be further used in optoelectronic applications.

Hot Embossing of Micro-Pyramids into Thermoset Thiol-Ene Film

This paper presents the first attempt to texturize a fully crosslinked thermoset shape memory polymer using a hot embossing technique. UV-cured thiol-ene films were successfully embossed with anisotropically-etched Si (100) stamps at a temperature of 100 °C, which is about 50 °C above the glass transition temperature of the polymer. The low storage modulus of the polymer in a rubbery state allowed us to permanently emboss random micro-pyramidal patterns onto the surface of the film with high fidelity by applying 30 MPa pressure for 1 h. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigation showed perfect replication of the stamp micropattern with typical height of the largest inverted pyramids close to 0.7 µm and lateral dimensions in the range of 1–2 µm. Changes in surface roughness parameters of the embossed thiol-ene films after annealing them at 100 °C for 1 h or storing for 2 months in air at standard room conditions were negligible. The achieved results open new perspectives for the simple and inexpensive hot embossing technique to be applied for the micropatterning of prepolymerized thermoset shape memory films as an alternative to micropatterning using UV casting.

Assembly Mechanism and the Morphological Analysis of the Robust Superhydrophobic Surface

Robust superhydrophobic surfaces are fabricated on different substrates by a scalable spray coating process. The developed superhydrophobic surface consists of thin layers of surface functionalized silica nanoparticle (SiO2) bound to the substrate by acrylate-polyurethane (PU) binder. The influence of the SiO2/PU ratio on the superhydrophobicity, and the robustness of the developed surface, is systematically analyzed. The optimized SiO2/PU ratio for prepared superhydrophobic surfaces is obtained between 0.9 and 1.2. The mechanism which yields superhydrophobicity to the surface is deduced for the first time with the help of scanning electron microscopy and profilometer. The effect of mechanical abrasion on the surface roughness and superhydrophobicity are analyzed by using profilometer and contact angle measurement, respectively. Finally, it is concluded that the binder plays a key role in controlling the surface roughness and superhydrophobicity through the capillary mechanism. Additionally, the reason for the reduction in performance is also discussed with respect to the morphology variation.