Adhesion improvement of poly (vinyl alcohol) coating on silicon substrate

Abstract The adhesion of the biocompatible hydrophilic polymer, poly (vinyl alcohol) to a model substrate, silicon, was investigated. Contact angle measurements were used to reveal the effect of various substrate cleaning procedures including sonication and UV–ozone treatment prior to casting a 35 μm coating. Raman microspectrometry and X-ray reflectometry were used to characterise the composition and the thickness of PVA thin films. The use of mechanical abrasion of the substrate followed by a 131 nm primer layer of PVA in combination with vacuum treatment at temperatures higher than the glass transition temperature ( T g  = 80 °C) provided the best resistance to delamination as demonstrated by visual observation during prolonged immersion of the coatings in water.