Surface topography and character of γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and dodecyltrimethoxysilane films adsorbed on the silicon dioxide substrate via vapour phase deposition

The surface topography and character of the deposited films formed from γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KH-550) and dodecyltrimethoxysilane (WD-10) on a silicon dioxide substrate (0001) via vapour phase deposition was investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and static water contact angle measurement techniques. The surface topography of the silane films adsorbed on the silicon dioxide substrates is dissimilar with different silane coupling agents and different deposition conditions. The silane films adsorbed on the silicon dioxide substrate become rougher with the increasing time of the deposition, but become smoother with the increasing temperature of the silicon dioxide substrate. The character of the substrate surface was changed from a hydrophilic one to a hydrophobic one after KH-550 or WD-10 deposition, and the WD-10 treated silicon dioxide substrate has a larger contact angle (96.3°) than KH-550 treated substrate (78.7°) at the same deposition condition, which indicates that the WD-10 treated substrate is more hydrophobic than the KH-550 treated substrate.