Surface modification of polyethylene in an argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Abstract

The surface properties of polyethylene can successfully be altered using argon plasmas. In this work, the surface modification of low density polyethylene (LDPE) using an argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is profoundly investigated. The surface modification is examined using different analysing techniques namely, water contact angle (WCA) measurements for the wettability and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for the chemical composition. Particular attention is paid to the treatment distance between the plasma jet capillary and the LDPE foil and the applied treatment time. At treatment distances between 5 and 15 mm, the WCA can be reduced with more than 70% within a treatment time of a few ms. XPS measurements reveal that this is due to the incorporation of oxygen containing groups and especially the increased implementation of the O-C=O group has a big influence. At treatment distances above 15 mm, the wettability decreases with increasing treatment distance. The wettability can however be enhanced by increasing the treatment time. Ageing considerations show that the loss in treatment efficiency is restricted to only 25%, meaning that even after 14 days of ageing the WCA reduction upon plasma treatment is still more than 40%. Based on the above mentioned results, the most appropriate parameters can thus be selected to provide an efficient plasma treatment of LDPE using the argon APPJ.3

Modification of Polyethylene by RF Plasma in Different/Mixture Gases

“…Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) has become one of the most extensively used commodity polymers in various technological applications, such as adhesives, microelectronics, coatings, thin-films, catheters, medical implants, and orthopedic devices [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Its versatility is mainly attributed to its outstanding material properties, including low density, ease of finishing, durability, flexibility, and chemical resistance, as well as its current commercial availability.…”

Microplasma Drug Delivery

“…Helium plasma-treated polycarbonate containing C, O, H atoms did not change the number of C and O atoms, but a change of structure by breaking carbonate groups was observed [53]. Helium is effective in increasing oxygen and also nitrogen functional groups coming from surrounding atmospheric air [47].…”

“…In this case, plasma treatment causes wettability and hydrophilicity of surfaces by increasing the number of functional groups such as oxygen or nitrogen. Argon plasma treatment is able to increase oxygen functional groups on polymer surface if argon plasma discharge is working on atmospheric air [47]. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of bombardment of polymers showed that the main products of etching are CO or H 2 , polymer units and C x H y fragments during transient sputtering.…”

Influence of water addition on the modification of polyethylene surface by nitrogen atmospheric pressure plasma jet

“…In recent years, atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) that is low‐cost and easy‐to‐control has been studied and developed. Due to its preferable features including low‐cost and easy‐to‐control, there has been several research employing APPJ to hydrophilize PE . Deynse et al .…”

“…Due to its preferable features including low‐cost and easy‐to‐control, there has been several research employing APPJ to hydrophilize PE . Deynse et al . modified the PE film by argon APPJ, and the results showed that the treated surface had better wettability.…”