AVS 51st International Symposium
    Applied Surface Science Wednesday Sessions
       Session AS+BI-WeA

Paper AS+BI-WeA7
Reversible Control of Free Energy and Topography of Nanostructured Surfaces

Wednesday, November 17, 2004, 4:00 pm, Room 210A

Session: Biological Applications of Surface Analysis
Presenter: Q. Fu, The University of New Mexico
Authors: Q. Fu, The University of New Mexico
G.V. Rama Rao, The University of New Mexico
S.B. Basame, The University of New Mexico
D.J. Keller, The University of New Mexico
K. Artyushkova, The University of New Mexico
J.E. Fulghum, The University of New Mexico
G.P. Lopez, The University of New Mexico
Correspondent: Click to Email
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. These hybrid membranes were characteriazed by FTIR, TGA, SEM. 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.