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Surface modification of polyester films by RF plasma
Author(s) -
Gupta B.,
Hilborn J.,
Hollenstein Ch.,
Plummer C. J. G.,
Houriet R.,
Xanthopoulos N.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/1097-4628(20001031)78:5<1083::aid-app170>3.0.co;2-5
Subject(s) - polyester , surface modification , plasma , materials science , composite material , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , polymer science , physics , engineering , quantum mechanics
Plasma treatment of PET films was carried out under argon, followed by exposure to an oxygen atmosphere. The films underwent considerable changes in surface composition and morphology, as demonstrated by contact angle measurements, FTIR‐ATR, AFM, and XPS. It was found that the surface acquired oxygen containing polar functional groups such as —C=O, —OH, and —OOH, which increased in number as the plasma treatment time increased. During storage, the treated films underwent significant surface reorganization, and both the time and temperature contributed to the increase in the contact angle. As revealed by AFM measurements, these changes were accompanied by an increase in roughness in the form of ridges. The ridges were observed to grow in height with increasing treatment time, although their spacing showed little evolution. A correlation among the observations obtained from various techniques was established, giving a comprehensive picture of the structure and dynamics of plasma‐treated PET surfaces . © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 78: 1083–1091, 2000