Hydrophilic modification of polycarbonate using p-phenylenediamine

ABSTRACT

Polycarbonate is a commonly used plastic, particularly for making glasses lenses. Polycarbonate is prone to fogging, making hydrophilic modification desirable. In this work, polycarbonate is treated with p-phenylenediamine (PPD) to improve its hydrophilicity. The influence of treating conditions, such as solvent, PPD concentration, heating temperature, and heating time, are studied to reveal their impacts on the water contact angle of polycarbonate. For example, the water contact angle of polycarbonate is reduced to 33° from 83° after treated in water with 0.1 wt% PPD at 80°C for 120 minutes. The improvement of the hydrophilicity of polycarbonate by PPD is explained based on the introduction of polar groups by PPD or poly-PPD (p-PPD), in terms of polyurethane, benzyl hydroxyl, or amine centers, which can interact with water to have a better affinity to spread water on the surface due to the like-like principle. The possible mechanisms are supported with infrared spectroscopy measurements.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Contact angles
• hydrophilic
• p-phenylenediamine
• polycarbonate

Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (60NANB22D130), and the School of Science and Engineering, the University of Missouri – Kansas City, of the United States of America.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology .

Notes on contributors

Brittney Zimmerle

Dr. Brittney Zimmerle obtained her Ph.D. degree at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2023, under the supervision of Dr. Xiaobo Chen. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry with a Biology minor and summa cum laude in 2021 from Park University in Parkville, Missouri. She earned Presidential Scholars, Departmental Honors in Chemistry, the Dr. William C. Pivonka Award, the CRC Press Freshman Chemistry Achievement Award., and joined Alpha Chi National College Honor Society.

Mishal Wu

Ms. Mishal Wu is a second-year student at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is currently pursuing a BA in Liberal Arts with a minor in Chemistry, as well as an MD through the six-year medical program. After taking the Chem 211L General Chemistry Laboratory course with Dr. Xiaobo Chen, she decided to perform research with Dr. Chen in the following semester to enrich her chemistry and lab skills. She has learned how to deposit multilayer materials and modify the surface of various materials. In the future, she hopes to continue lab research in both medicine and chemistry.

Jessica Liu

Ms. Jessica Liu is a rising senior at Piedmont High School, Class of 2024, in North California. She has been participating in research with Dr. Xiaobo Chen since April 2023. Prior to this, she did research with the Urban Planning Group in 2022 and the Thermal Energy Group in 2021 at Berkeley National Laboratory. She led the Marketing and Awards team for FRC 8033 Highlander Robotics and was the Head Organizer for the 2020 Black Lives Matter Youth Protest in Piedmont. Currently, she is serving as the Vice Captain of the robotics team and is the Treasurer for Advocacy for Asian Americans (AAA).

lihong tian

Dr. Lihong Tian is a Full Professor at the Hubei Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Organic Chemical Materials, and Ministry-of-Education Key Laboratory for the Synthesis and Applications of Organic Functional Molecules, in the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Hubei University, China. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry from Wuhan University in 2012. Her research interests focus on the design and synthesis of functional materials and photo-/electrocatalytic CO2 reduction and environmental sustainability.

Xinyu Tan

Dr. Xinyu Tan is a Full Professor at the Key Laboratory of Inorganic Nonmetallic Crystalline and Energy Conversion Materials and the Dean of the College of Materials and Chemical Engineering at China Three Gorges University. She has published about more than 300 research articles in the field of solar cells and solar materials. Her research interests are nanomaterials for renewable energy (solar cell, energy storage and conversion, energy saving and cooling technology) and sustainable environment in the field of anti-fouling and self-cleaning coating for solar cells and building applications.

Xiaobo Chen

Dr. Xiaobo Chen is a Full Professor of Chemistry and the Chemistry Graduate and Research Program Chair in the Division of Energy, Matter, and Systems in the School of Science and Engineering at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC). He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2005 from Case Western Reserve University and worked at the University of California - Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory from 2006 to 2011. His current research interests mainly focus on clean and renewable energy, sustainable environment, plastic recycling, smart materials, self-cleaning materials and radiative cooling coatings. He has co-authored around 210 peer-reviewed articles with about 68,000 citations.