Microfluidic water flow on laser-patterned MicroCoat (R) - coated steel surface

A series of hybrid textures with variable topography and chemical composition were obtained on a hydrophilic steel (AISI 304) substrate with a hydrophobic MicroCoat (R) coating at the increasing incident nanosecond laser fluence from 1.4 J/cm(2) to 5.6 J/cm(2). The microtopography of the textured surface was studied by laser microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the chemical composition of the surface was determined by IR spectroscopy. The contact angles of water wetting in the textured areas varied versus laser fluence from about 100 degrees to 10 degrees, which was explained by both ablative removal of the hydrophobic polymer coating and the increase in roughness of the hydrophilic steel surface. The time dependence of the contact angle on the different textures, which demonstrated hydrophobization at different time scales depending on the texturing conditions, was analyzed. Autonomous directional flow was observed on laser-patterned wetting-gradient structures of various shapes, and the flow velocity of water droplets on these structures were measured. It was shown that the velocity of water drop spreading on the gradient structures depends on the difference in contact angles on adjacent spots. The various modules fabricated can be harnessed in chemical and biomedical microfluidic devices.