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Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Treating Surfaces with a Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma using the COST-Jet
Published on: November 2, 2020
Physical mechanisms of interaction of cold plasma with polymer surfaces
Edward Bormashenko1, Gene Whyman2, Victor Multanen3
1Ariel University, Physics Faculty, P.O.B. 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel; Ariel University, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Faculty, P.O.B. 3, 40700 Ariel, Israel.
Abstract:
Physical mechanisms of the interaction of cold plasmas with organic surfaces are discussed. Trapping of plasma ions by the CH2 groups of polymer surfaces resulting in their electrical charging is treated. Polyethylene surfaces were exposed to the cold radiofrequency air plasma for different intervals of time. The change in the wettability of these surfaces was registered. The experimentally established characteristic time scales of the interaction of cold plasma with polymer surfaces are inversely proportional to the concentration of ions. The phenomenological kinetic model of the electrical charging of polymer surfaces by plasmas is introduced and analyzed.
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