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Surface modification of a polyurethane film by low pressure glow discharge oxygen plasma treatment
Author(s) -
Sanchis M. R.,
Calvo O.,
Fenollar O.,
Garcia D.,
Balart R.
Publication year - 2007
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/app.26250
Subject(s) - wetting , contact angle , surface modification , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , surface energy , materials science , scanning electron microscope , surface roughness , etching (microfabrication) , glow discharge , polyurethane , oxygen , chemical engineering , plasma etching , plasma , plasma activation , analytical chemistry (journal) , composite material , chemistry , organic chemistry , layer (electronics) , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Low pressure oxygen plasma has been used to improve the surface wettability of a polyurethane film. The modifications induced by the plasma treatment in the material were analyzed using contact angle measurements. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy technique was used for surface characterization of the plasma‐treated films. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze topography changes due to the plasma‐etching mechanism. The results show a much better surface wettability of the film even for short exposure times, with a considerable increase in the surface energy values. As expected, functionalization with oxygen plasma is mainly because of surface oxidation with species like (CO, CO, OH, etc). An aging process with regard to polar groups rearrangement has been observed, thus promoting a partial hydrophobic recovery. Besides functionalization, the surface wettability of the material improves as a consequence of a slight increase in surface roughness because of the etching effect of oxygen plasma. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007