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Effects of surface modification by Ar + irradiation on wettability of surfaces of poly(ethylene terephthalate) films
Author(s) -
Park SungChul,
Koh SeokKeun,
Pae Kook D.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.10286
Subject(s) - wetting , contact angle , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , materials science , surface roughness , irradiation , ethylene , surface modification , chemical engineering , surface finish , analytical chemistry (journal) , polymer chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , chemistry , catalysis , physics , nuclear physics , engineering
Surfaces of poly(ethylene terephthalate); PET, films were irradiated with Ar + at 1 keV using various ion doses (ID) from 10 14 to 10 17 ions/cm 2 (isc) with and without an O 2 environment. The wettability of the modified surfaces of PET was determined by measuring the contact angle between water droplets and the modified surfaces. The modified surfaces were also characterized by AFM (atomic force microscopy) and XPS (X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy) for changes in the surface morphology, and the chemical composition and molecular structure, respectively. The contact angle decreased from 70° for unmodified surfaces to 45° for modified surface with ID = 10 14 isc without O 2 and remained relatively constant with higher ID. The contact angle, however, reached a minimum value of 8° for modified surfaces with ID = 10 16 isc with O 2 . The improved wettability may be due to a combination of the formation of hydrophilic groups, chemical and molecular structural changes, physical structural or morphological changes, and increased roughness of the surface. The wettability of the modified surfaces also depended on the time of exposure to air. The wettability worsened with exposure time to air, but was revived by immersing the films into water. Possible mechanisms for the change of the wettability of the modified surfaces are given.