Plasma Polymer Film as a Model Interlayer for Polymer Composites

Abstract

In this paper, a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process that is useful for the preparation of thin and ultrathin films of controlled mechanical properties is identified. Plasma-polymerized films of vinyltriethoxysilane were deposited on planar substrates and analyzed using nanoindentation measurements of the Young's modulus of the films, adhesion bonding at the film/glass interface, chemical composition, and structure. The modulus of the plasma polymer film can be controlled simply by the effective power fed into the capacitive-coupled low-pressure plasma. The single film was tested as an interlayer in glass fiber (GF)/polyester composites. GF bundles were surface modified by plasma polymer in a unique technological system, enabling continuous processing of the bundle. GF/polyester composites in the form of short beams were manufactured using the coated fibers and tested according to the standard test method. By increasing the interlayer modulus, the short-beam strength was enhanced up to 112% compared with the untreated GFs, and this enhancement was also supported by an improvement in interfacial bonding. Index Terms-Glass fiber (GF), interface/interphase, mechanical properties, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PE CVD), thin film.

Solubility and adhesion characteristics of plasma polymerized thin films derived from Lavandula angustifolia essential oil

“…39 Examples of the adhesion results obtained using the optical microscope for PS (Fig. 10), glass (Fig.…”

“…An increase in hardness for an increase in RF power has been reported previously for plasma polymers. 39,41,42 This Figure 9 Adhesion data for polyLA deposited on PS at various RF power levels. THIN FILMS FROM L. ANGUSTIFOLIA ESSENTIAL OILtrend is typically attributed to an increase in crosslink density associated with increasing applied RF power and would account for the apparent change in hardness observed.…”

Elastic Modulus and Hardness of Plasma‐Polymerized Organosilicones Evaluated by Nanoindentation Techniques

“…Plasma‐polymerized tetravinylsilane (pp‐TVS, a‐SiC:H) films and plasma‐polymerized tetravinylsilane/oxygen gas (pp‐TVS/O 2 , a‐SiOC:H) films were deposited on silicon wafers by PECVD employing an RF (13.56 MHz) helical coupling system, operated in a pulsed regime. The effective power ( W eff ) of the pulsed plasma can be controlled by changing the ratio of the time the plasma was switched on ( t on ) to the period ( T ) defined as T = t on + t off .…”

Chemistry of Plasma‐Polymerized Vinyltriethoxysilane Controlled by Deposition Conditions

“…The SiO‐rich films may be used to improve the wettability of polymers 12. However, because of the variability of their physico‐chemical properties, a‐SiOC:H films may also be used as tailored interlayers to smartly combine inorganic (silica, glass, basalt) and organic (polymer) materials in composites13 or dielectric (SiO 2 ) and semiconductor (SiC) materials 14…”