Plasma Surface Modification of Polymers

Exposing a polymer surface to various kinds of plasmas can modify polymer surfaces. Plasmas of argon, oxygen, hydrogen, and air are frequently used in plasma surface modification of polymers. Plasmas of non-polymer-forming gases are used in 

No deposition of materials occurs in most cases however, the deposition of plasma polymer could occur depending on the nature of substrate polymer. Such a deposition of materials can be viewed as PP of organic vapors, which emanated from the substrate, by the interaction with plasma. Because the major player is the luminous gas phase, the surface treatment is included in this book under the term luminous chemical vapor treatment (LCVT). 

Comparing the terms plasma chemical vapor deposition and luminous chemical vapor deposition, the dilference exists in the meaning of plasma and luminous gas and its implications to the nature of chemical reactions that occur in the gas phase. Without referring the details of the difference, however, the process could be described either plasma polymerization (plasma CVD) or luminous CVD in all practical purposes. 

The terms luminous chemical vapor deposition and plasma polymerization are used synonymously in this book. Dealing with mechanism of reactions that lead to formation of solid deposition, PP is used according to the traditional use of the term. When dealing with the formation of reactive species and other operation and processing aspects, LCVD is preferentially used. 

Yasuda, H. Plasma polymerization and plasma modification of polymer surfaces. In New Methods of Polymer Synthesis Ebdon J.R., Eastmond, G.C., Eds. Blackie London, 1995 Vol. 2, 161-196. 

---

M. Strobel, C. S. Lyons, and K L. Mittal, eds., Plasma Surface Modification of Polymers Relevance to Adhesion, Coronet Books, Philadelphia, Pa., 1994. 

Liston EM, Martinu L, Wotheimer MR (1997) Plasma surface modification of polymers for improved adhesion a taitical review. Plasma surface modification of polymers relevance to adhesion. VSP, Boston... 

F Ponan-Epaillard and B Chevet, J C BrossE, Plasma Surface Modification of Polymers Relevance to Adhesion, edited by M strobel, C S Lyons and K L Mttal, VSP BV., Netherlands, 1994. 

Oehr, C., 2003. Plasma surface modification of polymers for biomedical use. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. B 208, 40—47. 

Liston EM, Martinu L, Wertheimer MR. In Mittal KL, editor. Plasma surface modification of polymer for improved adhesion a critical review. Utrech, Netherlands VSP 1994. 

Strobel, M., Lyons, C.S., and Mittal, KL. (eds) (1994) Plasma Surface Modification of Polymers, VSP Press, Zeist, Netherlands. 

The surface modification of polymers for improvement of adhesive bonding, and altering surface properties in general without concomitant modification of bulk properties is an active area of research in both industrial and academic laboratories and has been accomplished by a variety of means ranging from Corona discharge treatment, direct chemical modification and by interaction with plasmas excited in inert gases either capacitively or inductively27. ... 

Clark, D.T., Dilks, A. and Shuttleworth, D., "The Application of Plasmas to the Synthesis and Surface Modification of Polymers" in Polymer Surfaces, Ed. D.T. Clark and W.J. Feast, J. Wiley, London 1978. 

The analytical depth profiling for these systems (e.g. the polystyrene data is shown in Figure 5) revealed that the reaction is essentially confined to the topmost monolayer of material ( ). This is entirely reasonable in terms of the plasma chemistry since the most prominent reactive species is atomic oxygen f ich is expected to have an extremely short mean free path in hydrocarbon polymers. This serves as a very good example of the powerful nature of XPS when applied to the study of the surface modification of polymers. 

The first feature that chemically reactive species are created by the interaction of molecules (in gas phase or on the surface) with excited neutral species of Ar has a very significant influence in the surface modification of polymers. When a polymer surface is exposed to Ar or O2 plasma, the energetic ions and electrons (at the level of ionization energy) bombard the surface. The influence on the surface is determined by the energy level. The chemical bonds involved in the molecules that constitute the surface are relatively low (3 eV) compared to the ionization energy of the gas used in plasma (over lOeV). 

Surface Modification of Polymer Powders by a Far Cold Remote Nitrogen Plasma in Fluidized Bed... 

C. Cheng, Z. Liye, R.J. Zhan, Surface modification of polymer fibres by the new atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet Surf. Coat. Technol. 200, 6659-6665 (2006)... 

In this contribution, we report on the surface modifications of polymers by a dual frequency electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma and their influence on the formation of the metal-polymer interfaces. The surface modifications are studied with respect to different parameters of the plasma treatment including the influence of an atmospheric contact. The interface of an evaporated metal film with a polymer surface is characterized in terms of the observed growth mode of the film as a function of the polymer surface properties. 

---