Hello,
I am coating a glass slide with a thin layer of PDMS via dip coating. After I coat, how long should I cure a thin PDMS film like this and at what temperature? Thanks.
Hi Abigail Marciniak ,
The curing time and temperature of PDMS depends on the formulation you are using. If you are employing a commercial PDMS, probably the TDS of the PDMS will have the best curing conditions to obtain a good solid coating. If you are using a lab-made formulation, then the type of catalyst normally "rules" the curing time and temperature.
As a general rule, putting your sample in an oven, at around 70°C/80°C should be fine, for a couple of hours (maybe 3, 4?). Also, in some PDMS formulations, a post-curing stage is employed to assure the highest crosslinking degree. This means 120°C/150°C for 1 hour or 2.
If you are curious to see the best time and temperature to cure your specific PDMS, there are some lab experiments that can be done, specially thermorheology, or FTIR, or DSC. This for sure will require the preparation of samples and the set up of experiments. Feel free to ask or check literature if you are interested.
Hope this helps!
Best,
Agustin
Is it only PDMS or a formulation? If it is curable PDMS and single component, it needs curing at RT for 24 h and then heating up to 150C with varying residence time at different ascending temperature.
You can find some more info here as well: https://www.elveflow.com/microfluidic-reviews/pdms-softlithography-replication/
"The curing temperature has to be chosen according to the mold container, indeed if you use a Petri dish do not heat over 90°C. We advise you to bake at 80°C in an oven during 2 hours. You will be able to manipulate your PDMS just after it cools down."
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