UV-laser-assisted liquid phase fluorination of PMMA

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) substrate was covered with liquid 1,2,3,5-tetrafluorobenzene by spin coating. Then the sample was irradiated by a KrF-excimer laser (l = 248 nm). Thus, fluorine is released from the fluorine-containing precursor diffusing into the polymeric substrate material where it is expected to substitute the hydrogen atoms of the polymeric molecule and form a water-repellent (hydrophobic) fluorinated polymer. After drying out the polymeric substrate, the sample surface was investigated by SEM, EDX, XPS and contact angle measurement method in order to determine the fluorine content and the wettability of the treated polymeric surface as well as the substitution sites inside the polymeric molecule. The measurements indicate some chemically bonded fluorine at the top of the sample layer. A UV-photochemical fluorination mechanism is proposed based on the XPS spectra evaluation.