Plasma-induced polymerization treatments

Fire-retardant treatment Hammability of acrylic textiles can be reduced by using (meth)acrylates containing phosphorus monomers known to be effective as flame-retardant compounds (Price et al., 2002). Tsafack et al. (2004) smdied the plasma-grafted thin layer of phosphorus polymer by plasma-induced graft-polymerization. The formation of a characteristic protective char layer during the burning test was observed for the treated compounds whereas the untreated ones burned without residuals (Tsafack et al., 2004). 

The non-equilibrated, low-temperature plasma which is generated by glow discharge in gases is very suitable for the modification of polymer surfaces. Examples are plasma polymerization and plasma treatment In comparison with these plasma applications, plasma-induced graft copolymerization has attracted the attention of only very few researchers. 

Plasma surface treatment and Plasma-Induced Graft Polymerization (PIGP)... 

Hole injection from the anode into the HTL depends upon the energy barrier at this interface. The higher the barrier, the larger the voltage required to induce injection. Therefore, in order to reduce the barrier (i.e., increase anode work function) and facilitate hole injection, for the typical anode material, indium tin oxide (ITO), various treatments of the surface are used, such as oxygen (O2) plasma treatment UV/ozone treatment treatment with polymerization of and CF4/O2 plasma treatment. ... 

Plasma treatment of microchannels can be useful for improving the functionality of microdevices. For example, previous studies have shown that PDMS microchannels can be made hydrophilic by the addition of silane molecules with polar head groups [6]. In this process (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (3-MPS) was absorbed to PDMS to increase the hydrophilic properties of microchannels. Additionally, plasma polymerization has been used to induce in the long-term hydrophilic surface modification by covalently bonding a polymer layer to the surface. Barbier et al. [7] describe a method based on plasma polymerization modification with acrylic acid coatings. First, argon plasma pretreatment was used to activate trace oxygen molecules in the chamber, which partially oxidize the top layer of the substrate. This step cross-linked the surface to reduce ablation of silicon... 

With plasma treatment, surface wettability can be readily induced on a variety of normally non-wettable materials as shown in Table P. 5. Certain polymeric surfaces, such as the polyolefins, become crosslinked during plasma treatment. The surface skin of polyethylene, for example, will become crosslinked so that if the polymer were placed on a hot plate of sufficient heat, the interior would turn to a molten liquid while the crosslinked outer skin held a solid shape. Other polymers have their critical surface energy affected in different ways. Plasma-treated polymers usually form adhesive bonds that are two to four times the strength of nontreated polymers. Table P.5 presents bond strength of various plastic adherends pretreated with activated gas and bonded with an epoxy or urethane adhesives. 

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