In this thesis, we investigated the effects of laser processing and chemical functionalization
of copper surfaces on the capillary wicking of water and ethanol. Copper surfaces were laser
structured using different laser line spacings and scanning speeds and subsequently
chemically functionalized with 3-phosphonopropionic acid (FPK) and PEG-silane (PEGS).
Capillary wicking was evaluated using a custom-developed measurement system based on
an industrial camera and computer-assisted video analysis in Python. The results showed
that chemical functionalization significantly affected the capillary wicking of water, whereas
for ethanol, the laser-induced microstructure had the predominant influence. Of the two
coatings investigated, FPK proved to be more effective, providing faster and more repeatable
capillary wicking as well as good thermal stability. Laser line spacing and scanning speed
significantly affected capillary transport, with the most favorable results among the tested
parameters obtained at a channel spacing of 40 μm and a laser scanning speed of 165 mm/s.
The findings provide a basis for further optimization of laser-structured and chemically
functionalized copper surfaces for passive liquid transport applications.
|
