A novel method to introduce durable hydrophilicity onto hydrophobic polymer surface by plasma treatment

We have examined a novel method to fabricate a durable hydrophilic surface of hydrophobic polymeric materials modified by plasma treatment. The method involves a trapping of maleic anhydride-containing polymer onto poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) by a plasma-induced crosslinking reaction of PEN followed by hydrolysis of maleic anhydride moiety to generate hydrophilic carboxyl groups on the PEN surface. In fact, the PEN film surface thus treated has shown an effective stability of wettability based on the water contact angle measurement.