172 nm excimer VUV-triggered photodegradation and micropatterning of aminosilane films

Emission from Xe2* excimers exhibiting photon energies between 7 and 10 eV can be used to induce strong surface modification effects on polymeric materials in the top 100 nm layer. In order to identify suitable monomers for this VUV-based process, the photodegradation mechanism of different organosilanes of the general structure R–CH2–Si(OCH3)3 was elucidated by quantum chemical calculations. Herein, the photodegradation of 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane films by the use of a 172 nm excimer lamp under different irradiation conditions is described and completed by micropatterning experiments. The presence of 1000–5000 ppm oxygen was found to promote the transformation process to an inorganic-like surface. The films obtained were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle measurements and fluorescence microscopy after covalent attachment of a fluorescent dye to the remaining amino groups. Complementary, silver staining was used to visualize photopatterning.