Control over wettability of textured surfaces by electrospray deposition

Microtextured surfaces were prepared by electrospray deposition (ESD) from hydrophilic and hydrophobic acrylic resin solutions. The surface morphologies and topologies were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and laser profile microscopy, respectively. Wetting behaviors on the surfaces were characterized by contact angle and sliding angle measurements. The contact angle of the water droplet on the hydrophilic resin-coated surfaces decreased with an increase in the surface roughness. On the other hand, the contact angle on the hydrophobic resin-coated surfaces increased with an increase in the surface roughness. In addition, a patterned surface composed of aligned fibers by ESD showed anisotropy of both wetting and sliding behaviors. These results indicate that ESD is a useful method for designing a textured surfaces and controlling the surface wettability. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.