Carbon Nanoparticle Functionalization of Laser Textured Polymer Surfaces for Chemical and Biological Speciation
R. McCann, K. Bagga, E. Mccarthy, R. Groarke, A. Al-Hamaoy, A. Stalcup, M.Vázquez and D. Brabazon
A novel method for the fabrication of microchannels on cyclic olefin polymer (COP) films is presented. COPs are increasingly popular choices as substrate materials as a result of their promising properties, such as good optical transparency in the near ultraviolet (UV) range, high chemical resistance and low water absorption. This paper presents fabrication of microchannels on cyclic olefin polymer using a 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser. The effect of different plasma treatments on hydrophilicity of the substrate was also investigated and contact angle measurements were performed. The shape and morphology of the micro-channels formed were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). In order to functionalize the resulting micro-channels with ultrapure carbon nanostructures for chemical and biological speciation, different forms of carbon nanostructures were prepared from graphite by pulsed laser ablation in liquid (PLAL).
Keywords: Nd:YAG laser, cyclic olefin polymer (COP), ZeonorFilm, carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), micromachining, pulsed laser ablation, liquid, contact angle