Surface texturing of polytetrafluoroethylene by hot embossing

In this study, hot embossing by reusable Ni mold with features in the form of rectangular diffraction gratings of 4 μm period was successfully employed for surface texturing of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film above the glass transition temperature of PTFE amorphous phase with the aim to enhance surface hydrophobicity. Imprint pressure was set to 0.5 MPa and it was at least tenfold lower than reported by other authors using cold stamping. Embossed gratings were clearly seen on the surface of all imprinted samples even after the annealing at 140 °C and aging for 1 month at room temperature. The best results were achieved when imprint temperature was 150 °C. Measurements of the water contact angle on imprinted PTFE surfaces have showed that increase of the average contact angle for the current test setup was 8°. Using imprint stamp with the more favorable features may lead to somewhat higher hydrophobicity.