Reactive & Functional Polymers, Vol.136, 173-180, 2019
Antibacterial properties of angle-dependent nanopatterns on polystyrene
Surface modification of polystyrene by a KrF pulse excimer UV laser under the angles of incidence of the laser beam of 0, 22.5 and 45 degrees was proposed in this paper. The influence of the angle of incidence, laser fluence, number of pulses and a deposition of a thin gold layer on the physical and chemical properties of the surface was studied closely. Changes in the surface morphology, the formation of the periodic surface structures as well as the dependence of their dimension on the angle of incidence of the laser beam were determined by Atomic force microscopy and Scanning electron microscopy. Changes in the surface chemistry were studied by X-ray Photoelectron spectroscopy, which revealed a significant increase of oxygen concentration for all laser treated samples and also by electrokinetic analysis to further clarify the surface chemistry and charge changes occurring during the laser treatment. An optimal conditions for antibacterial surface construction was found on the basis of combination of silver nanolayer and PS treated under angle of laser beam incidence 45 degrees. The potential application of laser-treated polystyrene foils can be found mainly in the biotechnological industry, as well as in various other fields dealing with surface modification and micro-patterning of solids.
Keywords:Polystyrene;Excimer laser treatment;Atomic force microscopy;Scanning electron microscopy;Periodic nanostructures;Antibacterial properties