Surface Wettability of Silica Films Modified by UV/Ozone Treatment

Surface wettability of silica films was modified by UV/Ozone treatment. The silica films were prepared by dip-coating process using tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as starting precursor. The TEOS was dissolved in mixing solution of absolute ethanol, deionized water and ammonia and then hydrochloric acid was added as the hydrolysis catalyst. The mixed solution was coated on glass substrates by dip coating process operated at 30 mm/min and heated at 100 °C. After that, the deposited films were exposed in UV/Ozone generator at different time treatment. The effects of time treatment on surface wettability, and optical properties of modified silica films were investigated by contact angle measurement, UV-Vis spectrophotometer. The contact angle of silica films was decreased after UV/Ozone treatment. These results implied that surface wettability of silica films was significantly improved by UV/Ozone treatment due to the oxidization its surface.

Keywords: UV/Ozone, silica films, surface wettability

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