Ultra-fast photo-patterning of hydroxamic acid layers adsorbed on TiAlN: The challenge of modeling thermally induced desorption

Long-chain n-alkyl terminated hydroxamic acids (HA) are used for the modification of titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN) surfaces. HA coatings improve the hydrophobicity of this wear resistant and industrially relevant ceramic. Therefore, HAs with different structural properties are evaluated with respect to their wear resistance and their thermal desorption properties. In order to find new coatings for rewritable offset printing plates, the changes in the surface polarity, composition, and morphology are analyzed by contact angle measurements, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning force microscopy (SFM), respectively. The results are referenced to the strongly bonding molecule n-dodecyl phosphonate (PO11M), which has been used for surface hydrophobization before but proved difficult to remove due to the high laser outputs required for thermal desorption. It is found that for certain HAs, an equally good hydrophobization compared to PO11M can be achieved. Contact angles obtained for different hydroxamic acid coatings can be correlated to their modes of adsorption. Only for selected HA species, resistance to mechanical wear is sufficient for further investigations. Photo-patterning of these hydroxamic acid layers is achieved using a high energy IR laser beam at different energy inputs. Fitting of the obtained data and further evaluation using finite element analysis (FEM) calculations reveal significantly reduced energy consumption of about 20% for the removal of a specific hydroxamic acid coating from the ceramic surface compared to PO11M.