Electrowetting on polymer surfaces
Date
2013
Authors
Asare Asher, S.
Connor, J.
Sedev, R.
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Conference paper
Citation
2013 Chemeca proceedings: Challenging Tomorrow, 2013, pp.663-667
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2013 Chemeca: Challenging Tomorrow (29 Sep 2013 - 2 Oct 2013 : Brisbane, Australia)
Abstract
Controlled wetting can be achieved by using an external electric field. In electrowetting the wettability of a solid surface is controlled by varying the voltage applied across the interface. This phenomenon has been used in microfluidics, display technology, and in variable focal length lenses. Electrowetting behaviour usually follows the Young-Lippmann equation but deviations are found at higher voltages (contact angle saturation). We investigate the electrowetting of a dilute aqueous electrolyte on several insulating polymer surfaces (amorphous fluoropolymer, polytetrafluoroethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylidene fluoride, polymethyl methacrylate and polyethylene terephthalate). Electrowetting behaviour was studied with respect to the changing properties of the insulator (surface energy, dielectric constant and strength). The zero interfacial tension theory on electrowetting saturation predicted the saturation poorly. Contact angle saturation was found to correlate better with the dielectric strength of the polymer layer than with its wettability.
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Copyright 2013 S Asare-Asher, JN Connor and RV Sedev