Hydrophilic property by contact angle change of ion implanted polycarbonate

In this study, ion implantation was performed onto a polymer, polycarbonate (PC), in order to investigate surface hydrophilic property through contact angle measurement. PC was irradiated with N, Ar, and Xe ions at the irradiation energy of 20-50 keV and the dose range of 5x10(15), 1x10(16), 7x10(16) ions/cm(2). The contact angle of water was estimated by means of the sessile drop method and was reduced with increasing fluence and ion mass but increased with increasing implanted energy. The changes of chemical and structural properties are discussed in view of Furier transform infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, which shows increasing C-O bonding and C-C bonding. The surface roughness examined by atomic force microscopy measurement changed smoothly from 3.59 to 2.22 A as the fluence increased. It is concluded that the change in wettability may be caused by surface carbonization and oxidation as well as surface roughness.