In this study,polyacrylic acid(PAA)films were employed as a model system,and a series of PAA films with tunable water wettability was systematically prepared by varying molecular weight and curing temperature.Using at...In this study,polyacrylic acid(PAA)films were employed as a model system,and a series of PAA films with tunable water wettability was systematically prepared by varying molecular weight and curing temperature.Using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR),the molecular configurations of surface carboxyl groups(COOH),free carboxyl(COOH_(f))and hydrogen-bonded carboxyl(COOH_(HB),were directly correlated with the polar component of surface energy(γ^(s,p)).By decomposing theγ^(s,p)values of the PAA thin films as a sum of the contributions of COOH_(f)and COOH_(H B),the intrinsic polar component of surface energy of COOH_(H B)(γ_(H B)^(s,p*))was quantified for the first time as 8.34 mN/m,significantly lower than that of COOH_(f)(γ_(f)^(s,p*)=34 mN/m).This result highlights that hydrogen bonding markedly reduces theγ^(s,p),providing a rational explanation for the relatively large water contact angle observed on PAA thin films.Furthermore,it establishes a thermodynamic basis for estimating the fraction of surface COOH_(H B)groups(f H B)from wettability measurements.Further extension of the model to carboxyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers(COOH-SAMs)revealed that surface COOH density(ΣCOOH)critically regulates wetting behavior:whenΣCOOH ranges from 4.30 to 5.25 nm^(-2),COOH groups predominantly exist in a free state and facilitate effective hydration layers,thereby promoting superhydrophilicity.Overall,this study not only establishes a unified thermodynamic framework linking surface COOH configurations to macroscopic wettability,but also validates its universality by extending it to COOH-SAMs systems,thereby providing a unified theoretical framework for the controllable design of hydrophilicity in various COOH-functionalized surfaces.展开更多
文摘In this study,polyacrylic acid(PAA)films were employed as a model system,and a series of PAA films with tunable water wettability was systematically prepared by varying molecular weight and curing temperature.Using attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(ATR-FTIR),the molecular configurations of surface carboxyl groups(COOH),free carboxyl(COOH_(f))and hydrogen-bonded carboxyl(COOH_(HB),were directly correlated with the polar component of surface energy(γ^(s,p)).By decomposing theγ^(s,p)values of the PAA thin films as a sum of the contributions of COOH_(f)and COOH_(H B),the intrinsic polar component of surface energy of COOH_(H B)(γ_(H B)^(s,p*))was quantified for the first time as 8.34 mN/m,significantly lower than that of COOH_(f)(γ_(f)^(s,p*)=34 mN/m).This result highlights that hydrogen bonding markedly reduces theγ^(s,p),providing a rational explanation for the relatively large water contact angle observed on PAA thin films.Furthermore,it establishes a thermodynamic basis for estimating the fraction of surface COOH_(H B)groups(f H B)from wettability measurements.Further extension of the model to carboxyl-terminated self-assembled monolayers(COOH-SAMs)revealed that surface COOH density(ΣCOOH)critically regulates wetting behavior:whenΣCOOH ranges from 4.30 to 5.25 nm^(-2),COOH groups predominantly exist in a free state and facilitate effective hydration layers,thereby promoting superhydrophilicity.Overall,this study not only establishes a unified thermodynamic framework linking surface COOH configurations to macroscopic wettability,but also validates its universality by extending it to COOH-SAMs systems,thereby providing a unified theoretical framework for the controllable design of hydrophilicity in various COOH-functionalized surfaces.
