Synthetic polymers plasma treatment

Physical methods include plasma treatments, UV irradiation, corona discharge, and flame treatment. Among these, plasma treatment is widely used for the surface modification of synthetic polymers. Plasma can be obtained by exciting gases into an energetic state by radio frequency, microwave, or electrons from a hot filament discharge. Generation of plasma requires a vacuum, which normally poses several... 

Ortiz-Magan A.B., Pastor-Bias M.M., Eerrandiz-Gomez T.P., Morant-Zacares C., and Martfn-Martfnez J.M., 2001, Surface modifications produced by N2 and O2 RF-plasma treatment on a synthetic vulcanised rubber. Plasmas Polym., 6(1,2), 81-105. 

Polyacrylic acid (PAA)—P2VP mixed brushes were prepared by a similar synthetic procedure, by grafting of carboxyl-terminated poly(ferf-butyl acrylate) (PtBuA) and P2VP. Afterwards, PtBuA was hydrolyzed in the presence of p-toluene sulfonic acid. The same strategy was employed to graft mixed PEL brushes on polymer surfaces. In this case plasma treatment was used to functionalize surface of polymer substrates. We introduced amino groups on the surface of PA-6 and PTFE by treatment of the polymer samples with NH3 plasma. Then the carboxyl terminated homopolymers were grafted step by step from the melt to the solid substrate via amide bonds. 

Several surface modification methods for synthetic polymers have been described, for example, the use of chemical finishers based on carboxyl-containing polymers [100]. Alkaline and acid hydrolysis treatments are unspecific and result in strength and weight losses [97, 108]. Ionized gas treatment of PET materials using plasma has also been investigated to introduce hydrophilic groups at the surface of the polymer [80]. However, the application of this method is limited because it is complicated to use, and it can be difficult to control the extent of the material modification [16]. 

There is a great interest in these treatments because the hydrophobic/hydrophilic behavior conditions the compatibility with other materials. This is especially important for the development of composites, in which dissimilar materials are employed with the aim of obtaining a product that combines the desired properties of the components. For instance, the incorporation of starch to synthetic polymers renders a biodegradable, water resistant material however, the components must be made compatible by modifying the hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity of one or both of them. Hydrophobic starch has been obtained with a SiCl4 plasma treatment, followed by a reaction with either ethylene diamine or dichlorodimethysilane thus, a hydrophilic material was converted into a hydrophobic one. There are also many... 

It can be seen from Table VIII that biodegradable polymer scaffolds approach went faster into clinical practice than the other two. Synthetic scaffolds enable us better control over physical properties such as mechanical properties. Also varieties of surface modification methods like protein and peptide immobilization, plasma treatment can provide better biocompatibility to the original polymer materials. 

Polypropylene (PP) is, besides polyesters, one of the most widely used polymers for producing synthetic fibres, especially for technical applications. PP fibres are mostly used in different technical fields due to their excellent mechanical properties, high chemical stability and processability. However, because of low surface energy, lack of reactive sites and sensitivity to photo- or thermal oxidation the polymer properties are insufficient for some applications. Therefore, several techniques for fibre modification have been reported, e.g. plasma treatment, chemical modification and nanomodification, i.e. production of nanocoated and nanofilled materials. 

Zhang, L., Loh, I.H., and Chu, C.C., 1993. A combined y-irradiation and plasma deposition treatment to achieve the ideal degradation properties of synthetic absorbable polymers. /. Biomed. Mater. Res., 27 1425-1441. 

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