Abstract
This paper reports the formation of TiO2 patterns with a wide range of photo-induced wettability switching from high hydrophobic to superhydrophilic states for on-chip liquid manipulation. TiO2 thin films with rough surface morphology were formed by a combination of optimised reactive sputtering and CF4 plasma etching. Octadecylphosphonic acid self-assembled monolayer (ODP-SAM) surface modification was applied to the surface-roughened TiO2 thin films in order to obtain a highly hydrophobic surface initially. Photocatalytic decomposition of ODP-SAM on the surface-roughened TiO2 by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation caused a wetting transition from the Cassie–Baxter state to the Wenzel state. Switching of the flow direction into branch channels was also demonstrated by utilising the photoresponsive wettability of the surface-modified TiO2 patterns on a fluidic chip.
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