Fluorescent lamps, surface treatment

The over-all effect of the methylchlorosilane treatment of steatite is to stabilize the electrical behavior of the surface under widely different conditions of humidity or condensation. The same surface stability is desired in certain types of fluorescent lamps in order to insure dependable starting of the discharge, regardless of the ambient humidity. Such lamps therefore are treated with the methylchlorosilane vapor in order to make the surface water-repellent, in which condition it has a more constant resistivity and a predictable charge distribution. The starting characteristics then are no longer affected seriously by the moisture content of the air. 

Kiguchi [55] used ESCA to monitor surface changes in chemically modified sugi during and after exposure to UV light from 20-W UV fluorescent lamps. Chemical modification treatments included (1) methylation and reduction and (2) etherification with butylene oxide. In addition, wood samples that had been benzylated and then thermoplasticized by hot pressing were coated with... 

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