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Preparation of Light-responsive Membranes by a Combined Surface Grafting and Postmodification Process
Published on: March 21, 2014
Surface analysis of polymers treated by remote atmospheric pressure plasma
Eleazar Gonzalez1, Robert F Hicks
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|December 3, 2009
Summary
Atmospheric plasma treatment rapidly oxidized polymer surfaces, introducing functional groups like carboxylic acids. This process caused chain scission in some polymers and ring-opening in others, altering their chemical structure.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Science
- Surface Chemistry
- Plasma Physics
Background:
- Polymer surface modification is crucial for advanced material applications.
- Low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasmas offer a versatile tool for surface functionalization.
- Understanding plasma-surface interactions is key to tailoring material properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the surface oxidation of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and polyethersulfone (PES) using atmospheric pressure plasma.
- To identify the types of oxygen-containing functional groups introduced onto the polymer surfaces.
- To elucidate the chemical changes, including chain scission and ring-opening, induced by plasma exposure.
Main Methods:
- Surface treatment of polymers using the downstream afterglow of oxygen and helium plasma at atmospheric pressure.
- Analysis of surface chemical composition using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
- Characterization of functional group formation via Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-IR).
Main Results:
- Significant oxidation of HDPE surfaces, with 20% of carbon atoms converted to oxidized functional groups, including carboxylic acids.
- Rapid introduction of alcohols, ketones, and carboxylic acids onto the carbon backbone of all three polymers.
- Observed chain scission in HDPE and PMMA, and aromatic ring-opening with carboxylic acid insertion in PES.
Conclusions:
- Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment effectively functionalizes HDPE, PMMA, and PES surfaces with oxygen-containing groups.
- The plasma chemistry, primarily involving oxygen atoms and metastable molecules, drives specific chemical transformations on different polymer types.
- Plasma-induced surface modifications can lead to significant changes in polymer backbone structure, impacting material properties.
