The impact of the cold radiofrequency air plasma on the surface properties of silicone oils (polydimethylsiloxane) was studied. Silicone oils of various molecular masses were markedly hydrophilized by the cold air plasma treatment. A pronounced decrease of the apparent water contact angles was observed after plasma treatment. A general theoretical approach to the calculation of apparent contact angles is proposed.The treated liquid surfaces demonstrated hydrophobic recovery. The characteristic time of the hydrophobic recovery grew with the molecular mass of the silicone oil.

Low‐density polyethylene, polypropylene, and polycarbonate were exposed to cold air plasma treatment. The decay of electret response, hydrophobic recovery, and mechanical relaxation of polymers were studied experimentally. The three‐exponential decay kinetic model was used for the treatment of mechanical and electret responses. The characteristic time scales of mechanical and electret responses turned out to be very close. The “longest” relaxation time, extracted from the experimental study of the hydrophobic recovery, was also close to the corresponding characteristic time spans of electret and mechanical responses. The kinetics of surface processes taking place in polymers is controlled by the mobility of their functional groups, represented by the bulk relaxation spectra. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017, 55, 198–205