The oxygen gllow discharge plasma modification of a contact lens material has been studied using SSIMS. SSIMS provides evidence at the molecular level for the conversion of surface organosiloxane species to inorganic silica functionalities with treatment time. These findings shown an excellent correlation with a dramatic increase in surface hydrolphilicity, as derived from surface energy studies, on plasma treatment. This study further illustrates the potential of SSIMS in the determination of the molecular changes at the surface during the plasma treatment process.
XPS and contact angle measurements have been used to investigate the surface modification of an alkyl-acrylate/polysiloxane co-polymer by plasma-discharge treatments. The improved wettability brought about by the plasma treatments is shown to result from the oxygenation of the surface layers and the conversion of the polysiloxane component to a silica-like phase. By analysis with MgKa, AlKa, and AgLa induced XPS this oxygenation is shown to decrease with depth, The total thickness of this altered zone has been estimated by comparing these results with data from argon ion bombardment studies.
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