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Analysis of atmospheric pressure plasma parameters during treatment of polyethylene terephthalate films
Author(s) -
Deichmann Thorsten,
McCord Marian G.,
Bourham Mohamed A.,
Gries Thomas
Publication year - 2011
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.33557
Subject(s) - materials science , polyethylene terephthalate , plasma , wetting , atmospheric pressure , composite material , contact angle , helium , atmospheric pressure plasma , analytical chemistry (journal) , thermocouple , plasma parameters , polyethylene , atomic physics , chemistry , chromatography , oceanography , physics , quantum mechanics , geology
Abstract The North Carolina atmospheric plasma system (NCAPS) was interfaced with electric diagnostics and computer‐based instrument control hardware and software to display plasma parameters in real‐time. The monitoring system is also interfaced with gas flow controllers and a Teflon‐coated thermocouple for continuous monitoring of the gas flow and the ambient temperature inside the plasma test cell. A simplified plasma model was developed and built in the interface system to solve for the plasma electron number density and display the results during device operation. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films were treated in the device using various gas combinations. The ambient gas temperature inside the test cell increases from 83 to close to 95°F (28.33–35°C) for most gases within 30 s, and further increases to about 105 (40.6°C) after 300 s of operation, indicating a nonthermal plasma condition inside the test cell. The interface solver shows that the electron number density decreases when PET films are immersed in the plasma, indicating recombination of etched species to the free electrons. Contact angle measurements showed that the wettability of PET surfaces increased after plasma exposure for all used gas combinations. Measurements of Young's modulus with dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) showed an increase of the modulus of PET after treatment with helium plasma, whereas the modulus slightly decreased after treatment with oxygen, tetrafluorocarbon and hexafluorocarbon gases. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011