Improved hydrophilicity of zinc oxide-incorporated layer-by-layer polyelectrolyte film fabricated by dip coating method

ZnO nanoparticles suspended in poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were deposited onto layer-by-layer (LBL) polyelectrolyte (PET) films fabricated from poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) and PAA by dip coating method. Effect of etching time and concentration of ZnO suspension on hydrophilicity of the LBL-PET films before and after UV irradiation was examined using water contact angle measurement. 2.0 M PAH/PAA solutions with a dipping speed of 3.0 cm/min provided stable LBL-PET films with thickness sufficient for HCl etching. Glass substrates with the etched LBL-PET film dipped into 0.2 wt.% ZnO suspension exhibited the contact angle of 10° after irradiated by UV for 60 min.