Deposition of polysiloxane‐like nanofilms onto an aluminium alloy by plasma polymerized hexamethyldisiloxane: characterization by XPS and contact angle measurements

In this work, aluminium (Alclad 2024‐T3) substrates were cleaned by an r.f. (13.56 MHz) plasma, using argon (Ar), oxygen (O₂) and a mixture of O₂/Ar (50:50) gases. The effectiveness of plasma cleaning was checked in situ using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ex situ using water contact angle measurements. XPS O/Al surface atomic ratios are in excellent agreement with those of the crystalline boehmite and the pseudoboehmite. Oxygen O 1s peak‐fitting was used to quantify the proportion of hydroxyl ions and the functional composition on the aluminium surface: the surface cleaned with O₂ plasma contains 50% of aluminium hydroxides, the ones cleaned with Ar plasma and with Ar/O₂ plasma contain, respectively, 25 and 37% hydroxyl ions. The binding energy separation between Al 2p and O 1s is characteristic of AlO(OH). Thin SiO_x films were subsequently deposited from a mixture of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) and oxygen. In the absence of oxygen, a hydrophobic (Θ≥ 100° ) film characteristic of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is formed: polysiloxane‐like thinner films (SiO_x) are obtained with the introduction of oxygen. XPS and contact angle measurements confirmed both the composition and the structure of these films. More importantly, contact angle measurements using different liquids and interpreted with the van Oss‐Good‐Chaudhury theory allowed determination of the surface free energy of the deposited films: the calculated values of surface tension of the film formed from HMDSO/O₂: (50/50) are in excellent agreement with those of reference silica‐based materials such as a silicon wafer and cleaned glass. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancement of polymer hydrophobicity by SF6 plasma treatment and argon plasma immersion ion implantation

In this study sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) plasmas and argon plasma immersion ion implantation (ArPIII) techniques have been applied to improve the hydrophobicity of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), polyurethane and silicone surfaces. As evaluated by water contact angle measurements, all the treatments resulted in a significant enhancement in the hydrophobicity of the polymers. However, exposure of the treated samples to air induced a strong variation in their hydrophobicity as a consequence of post‐plasma reactions between atmospheric species and remnant surface free radicals. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results strongly suggest that for polyurethane and silicone the surface fluorination by SF₆ plasmas and the creation of new carbon bonds and radicals are the main agents for hydrophobicity enhancement. The PTFE exposed to ArPIII revealed increases in the contact angles after exposure to air. A significant incorporation of oxygen and the formation of new carbon bonds were revealed by XPS measurements. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of the effect of excimer laser irradiation and RF plasma treatment on polystyrene surface

Polystyrene (PS) samples were treated with excimer laser, argon and oxygen plasmas. The surface of PS was irradiated using ArF excimer pulsed laser (λ=193 nm). Radio frequency glow discharge (RF) was used to generate the argon and oxygen plasmas. The samples were processed at different number of pulses and treatment times. The changes were characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle measurements. The data from ATR-FTIR spectra showed the induction process of oxygen-based functional group in both PS samples treated with RF plasma and laser. AFM and SEM observations demonstrated that a specific nanostructure was created on the laser-treated PS surface. Contact angle measurement indicated higher wettability of the treated PS with both argon and oxygen plasmas and lesser wettability of laser-treated samples. The data from in vitro assays showed the significant cell attachment and growth onto plasma-treated surfaces in comparison with laser treated samples.     

Plasma-induced graft-polymerisation of ethylene glycol methacrylate phosphate on polyethylene films

A detailed study of argon plasma-induced graft-polymerisation of ethylene glycol methacrylate phosphate (EGMP) on polyethylene (PE) substrates is presented. The process consists of four steps: (a) plasma pre-activation of the PE substrates; (b) immersion in an EGMP solution; (c) argon plasma-induced graft-polymerisation; (d) washing and drying of the samples. Influence of the solution and plasma parameters on the process efficiency, evaluated in terms of amount of grafted polymer and coverage uniformity, is investigated. The plasma-induced graft-polymerisation of EGMP is then followed by sample weighting, contact angle measurements, attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) analysis. Finally, flame-retardant properties of modified PE substrates are evaluated by limiting oxygen index (LOI) measurements.     

Surface modification of polyester by oxygen‐ and nitrogen‐plasma treatment

In this paper, we present a study on the surface modification of polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) polymer by plasma treatment. The samples were treated by nitrogen and oxygen plasma for different time periods between 3 and 90 s. The plasma was created by a radio frequency (RF) generator. The gas pressure was fixed at 75 Pa and the discharge power was set to 200 W. The samples were treated in the glow region, where the electrons temperature was about 4 eV, the positive ions density was about 2 × 10¹⁵ m^?3, and the neutral atom density was about 4 × 10²¹ m^?3 for oxygen and 1 × 10²¹ m^?3 for nitrogen. The changes in surface morphology were observed by using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Surface wettability was determined by water contact angle measurements while the chemical composition of the surface was analyzed using XPS. The stability of functional groups on the polymer surface treated with plasma was monitored by XPS and wettability measurements in different time intervals. The oxygen‐plasma‐treated samples showed much more pronounced changes in the surface topography compared to those treated by nitrogen plasma. The contact angle of a water drop decreased from 75° for the untreated sample to 20° for oxygen and 25° for nitrogen‐plasma‐treated samples for 3 s. It kept decreasing with treatment time for both plasmas and reached about 10° for nitrogen plasma after 1 min of plasma treatment. For oxygen plasma, however, the contact angle kept decreasing even after a minute of plasma treatment and eventually fell below a few degrees. We found that the water contact angle increased linearly with the O/C ratio or N/C ratio in the case of oxygen or nitrogen plasma, respectively. Ageing effects of the plasma‐treated surface were more pronounced in the first 3 days; however, the surface hydrophilicity was rather stable later. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Surface Modification of Poly-ε-Caprolactone with an Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet

In this work, poly-ε-caprolactone samples are modified by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet in pure argon and argon/water vapour mixtures. In a first part of the paper, the chemical species present in the plasma jet are identified by optical emission spectroscopy and it was found that plasmas generated in argon/0.05 % water vapour mixtures show the highest emission intensity of OH (A–X) at 308 nm. In a subsequent section, plasma jet surface treatments in argon and argon/water vapour mixtures have been investigated using contact angle measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The polymer samples modified with the plasma jet show a significant decrease in water contact angle due to the incorporation of oxygen-containing groups, such as C–O, C=O and O–C=O. The most efficient oxygen inclusion was however found when 0.05 % of water vapour is added to the argon feeding gas, which correlates with the highest intensity of OH (X) radicals. By optimizing the OH (X) radical yield in the plasma jet, the highest polymer modification efficiency can thus be obtained.     

Surface Modification of Silicone Rubber by CF<Subscript>4</Subscript> Radio Frequency Plasma Immersion

Silicone rubber samples were treated by CF₄ capacitively coupled plasma at radio frequency (RF) power of 60, 100 and 200 W for a treatment time up to 20 min under CF₄ flow rate of 20 sccm, respectively. Static contact angle, ATR-FTIR and XPS, and AFM were employed to characterize the changes of surface on hydrophobicity, functional groups, and topography. The results indicate the static contact angle is improved from 100.7 to 150.2°, and the super-hydrophobic surface, which corresponds to a static contact angle of 150.2°, appears at RF power of 200 W for a 5 min treatment time. It is suggested that the formation of super-hydrophobic surface is ascribed to the co-action of the increase of surface roughness created by the ablation reaction of CF₄ plasma and the formation of [–SiF _x (CH₃)_2−x –O–] _n (x = 1, 2) structure produced by the direct attachment of F atoms to Si.     

The molecular structure of the complex trimethylaluminium dimethyl ether, (CH3)3AlO(CH3)2, determined by gas phase electron diffraction

The molecular structure of (CH₃)₃AlO(CH₃)₂ has been determined by gas phase electron diffraction. The main molecular parameters are AlC = 1.973(11), AlO = 2.014(14), OC = 1.436(3) Å, OAlC = 98.7(1.5), AlOC = 122.6 (0.5) and COC = 114.5(1.7)°. The OC bond distance and the COC valence angle are significantly larger than those in free dimethyl ether. The three valencies of the oxygen atom appear to lie in one plane. It is suggested that the planarity of the oxygen atom is due to across-angle repulsion Al?C(O).     

Rapid surface functionalization of poly(ethersulphone) foils using a highly reactive oxygen‐plasma treatment

We present a study of the oxygen‐plasma functionalization of polyethersulphone (PES). PES samples were exposed to a weakly ionized, highly dissociated oxygen plasma, with an electron temperature of 5 eV and a positive ion density of 8 × 10¹⁵ m^?3, and its afterglow, in which the density of charged particles was negligibly low and the density of neutral oxygen atoms was 4 × 10²¹ m^?3. The wettability of the samples was determined by measuring the contact angle of a water drop, while the appearance of the functional groups on the surface of the samples was determined using high‐resolution conventional XPS. The samples were saturated with surface functional groups, both in the plasma and in the afterglow region, after 1 s of treatment time. The results are explained by the high flux of oxygen atoms on the sample surface and the characteristics of the oxygen plasma. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organosilicon Amine Gels Based on 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane, Cobalt(II) or Chromium(III) Clorides, and Triethoxysilane

Organosilicon gels [Co(NH₂R²)₂Cl₂] and [Cr(NH₂R²)₃Cl₃], containing a diaminodichloride complex of cobalt(II) and triaminotrichloride complex of chromium(III) (R² = CH₂CH₂CH₂SiO(OEt)), were synthesized by the hydrolysis of complexes [Co(NH₂R¹)₂Cl₂] (I) and [Cr(NH₂R¹)₃Cl₃] (II) incorporating peripheral triethoxysilyl groups (R¹ = CH₂CH₂CH₂Si(OEt)₃). The coprecipitated [Co(NH₂R²)₂Cl₂] · 4NH₂R³, [Cr(NH₂R²)₃Cl₃] · 6NH₂R³, [Co(NH₂R²)₂Cl₂] · 2SiO₂, and [Cr(NH₂R²)₃Cl₃] ·xSiO₂ · (3 – x)SiHO_1.5 (R³ = CH₂CH₂CH₂SiO_1.5) gels were obtained by cohydrolysis of complexes I and II with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane or triethoxysilane. Interaction with SiH(OEt)₃ is accompanied by the decomposition of silicon hydride groups and the formation of tetraethoxysilane derivatives. The heating of dry gels in a flow of argon or oxygen to 600° results in the formation of amorphous silica having a specific surface area 2–467 m²/g and containing crystalline metals, their chlorides, oxides, silicates, or carbides.     

Infrared studies of fluoroalcohol-base complexes in the gas phase,carbon tetrachloride solutions and argon matrices

Hydrogen bonded complexes of fluoroalcohols with oxygen-containing bases like dimethyl ether and alkanols have been investigated in argon matrices, in CCl₄ solutions and in the gas phase. The increase of the proton donor capacities with succesive substitution of fluorine atoms into the alkyl group of alcohols is indicated by a strong increase of the shift Δν of the OH stretching frequency in the complexes. For alkanols as acceptors, an increase of Δν is observed along the series CH₃OH, CH₃CH₂OH, (CH₃)₂CHOH, and (CH₃)₃CHOH. The frequency shifts Δν increase as one passes from the gas phase to CCl₄ solutions and argon matrices.     

Polymer matrix of polyethylene porous films functionalized by electrical discharge plasma

The polyethylene porous films were treated by dielectric surface barrier discharge (DSBD) plasma at atmospheric pressure in oxygen (O₂) or nitrogen (N₂), and by radio-frequency discharge (RFD) plasma in air at reduced pressure 46 Pa. The surface energy of films was carried out by direct measurements of contact angles of six testing liquids. The strength of adhesive joints in the system modified polyethylene porous films - polyacrylate was measured by peeling of the joints under the angle of 90°. The significant increase of the surface energy and its polar component of polyethylene porous films modified by all types of plasma were observed. The higher strengths of adhesive joints were found for modification of polyethylene porous films by radio-frequency discharge plasma in comparison with modification of the films by barrier discharge plasma.     

Analysis of functional groups on the surface of plasma-treated carbon nanofibers

Plasma chemically modified carbon nanofibers were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with regard to the content of carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen and the contribution of carboxylic groups or ester, carbonyl and hydroxylic groups or ether on the surface. Unfortunately, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy only provides an average value of the first 10 to 15 molecular layers. For comparison, depth profiles were measured and wet chemical methods were applied to estimate the thickness of the functionalized layer and the distribution of oxygen-containing functional groups within the near-surface layers. The results indicate that the fiber surface is covered by a monomolecular oxygen-containing layer and that plasma treatment allows a complete oxygen functionalization of the uppermost surface layer. The best conditions for plasma treatment found within the set of parameters applied to generate complete functionalization are: plasma gas O(2)/Ar ratio 1:1, gas pressure 1-1.5 hPa, plasma power 80 W, treatment time >or= 5 min. Additionally, three quick and easy methods are presented to estimate the efficiency of plasma treatment with regard to surface functionalization: pyrolysis, contact angle measurements, and light permeability measurements of aqueous carbon nanofiber suspensions.     

A new six-coordinate organotin(IV) complex of OP[NC5H10]3: A comparison with an analogous five-coordinate complex by means of X-ray crystallography,Hirshfeld surface analysis and DFT calculations

A new six-coordinate organotin(IV)-phosphoric triamide complex of OP[NC₅H₁₀]₃ = OP was synthesized ([Cl₂Sn(CH₃)₂(OP)₂], 1) and characterized by X-ray crystallography and spectroscopic methods (FT-IR, UV–Vis, and ¹H/¹³C/³¹P-NMR). The crystal structures of 1 and the analogous previously reported five-coordinate complex [Cl₂Sn(CH₃)₂(OP)] (IZOVIE) were compared on a structural level and by computational means using Hirshfeld surface analysis, density functional theory calculations and the atom in molecule method. The investigation of intermolecular interactions in the crystal structures of the two complexes by the Hirshfeld surface method indicates that in the absence of normal hydrogen bonds, the chlorine-based interactions H?Cl/Cl?H (for 1 and IZOVIE) and Cl?Sn/Sn?Cl (for IZOVIE) play a determinant role in the molecular assemblies. However, the prominent contacts are of H?H type. From calculated electronic parameters such as bond order, Mulliken charge and electron delocalization energy, it was found that the Sn-OP contact has a lower strength in IZOVIE than in 1, suggesting more ionic character of the metal-oxygen contact in five-coordinate complex IZOVIE. Furthermore, we discuss the similarities and differences of the two complexes 1 and IZOVIE derived from the same ligand OP by density functional theory calculations to present an insight into the organotin(IV)-phosphoric triamide coordination chemistry affected by different geometries and coordination numbers.     

Analysis of Tetracycline,Oxytetracycline and Chlortetracycline in Plasma Extracts by Electrospray Tandem Mass-Spectrometry and by Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

Pure standards of tetracyclines (tetracycline, oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline) have been analyzed on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization (APCI) and Electrospray Ionization (ESI). ESI appeared to be considerably more sensitive than APCI. Collisional activation of the MH⁺ ions gave fragment ions at m/z values equal to MH⁺ - 35 which corresponds to loss of both H₂O and NH₃. The collisionally induced loss of 35 from MH⁺ was used in developing a mass spectrometric method based on loop injection and selected reaction monitoring (SRM) as the final analytical step. The method was tested on extracts from fortified plasma and the measurements from the MS-MS analysis were compared with results from High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the same samples. The fortified plasma (from pig) samples were purified by chelate affinity chromatography (amberlite XAD columns). After filtration and evaporation of the solvent the redissolved residues were analyzed by HPLC and by MS-MS with ESI. The HPLC eluates (gradient of 0.01 M aqueous oxalic acid and CH₃CN) were monitored at 356 and 369 nm. The signal to noise ratio in the analyses of extracts from plasma fortified to 20 ppb suggests a detection limit for the MS-MS method below 10 ppb of tetracylines in plasma.     

Specific Decoration of a Discrete Bismuth Oxido Cluster by Selected Peptides towards the Design of Metal Tags

Metal tags find application in a multitude of biomedical systems and the combination with laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) offers an opportunity for multiplexing. To lay the foundation for an increase of the signal intensities in such processes, we herein present a general approach for efficient functionalization of a well-defined metal oxido cluster [Bi₆O₄(OH)₄(SO₃CF₃)₆(CH₃CN)₆]⋅2 CH₃CN ( 1 ), which can be realized by selecting 7mer peptide sequences via combinatorial means from large one-bead one-compound peptide libraries. Selective cluster-binding peptide sequences ( CBS ) for 1 were discriminated from non-binders by treatment with H₂S gas to form the reduction product Bi₂S₃, clearly visible to the naked eye. Interactions were further confirmed by NMR experiments. Extension of a binding peptide with a maleimide linker ( Mal ) introduces the possibility to covalently attach thiol-bearing moieties such as biological probes and for their analysis the presence of the cluster instead of mononuclear entities should lead to an increase of signal intensities in LA-ICP-MS measurements. To prove this, CBS - Mal was covalently bound onto thiol-presenting glass substrates, which then captured 1 effectively, so that LA-ICP-MS measurements demonstrated drastic signal amplification compared to single lanthanide tags.     

Angle‐resolved XPS of fluorinated and semi‐fluorinated side‐chain polymers

Angle‐resolved XPS data (elemental quantification and high‐energy‐resolution C 1s) are presented for ten polymers with side‐chains of the form ? OCO(CF₂)_yF, ? COO(CH₂)₂OCO(CF₂)_yF (y = 1, 2, 3) and ? COO(CH₂)_x(CF₂)_yF (x = 1, y = 1, 2, 3; x = 2, y = 8). Particular attention was paid to charge compensation and speed of data acquisition, with co‐addition from multiple fresh samples to give spectra with good energy resolution and good signal‐to‐noise ratio free from the effects of x‐ray‐induced degradation. Water contact angles for the polymers are also reported. The XPS data demonstrate preferential surface segregation of fluorine‐containing groups for all but the shortest side‐chain polymer, where the ? OCOCF₃ side‐chain either does not surface segregate or is too short for surface segregation to be detectable by angle‐resolved XPS. In the other polymers studied the relative positions of functional groups in the side‐chains correlate with the angle‐resolved behaviour of the corresponding C 1s components. This shows that the surface side‐chains are oriented towards the polymer surface. For the ? COO(CH₂)₂OCO(CF₂)_yF (y = 1) side‐chain, the angle‐resolved C 1s data suggest reduced ordering and linearity compared with y = 2 and 3. For any particular series of polymers, e.g. ? COO(CH₂)_x(CF₂)_yF, the water contact angles increase with y, consistent with burying of the hydrophilic ester groups as y increases. For any particular value of y the sequence of water contact angles is ? COO(CH₂)_x(CF₂)_yF > ? OCO(CF₂)_yF ～ ? COO(CH₂)₂OCO(CF₂)_yF, suggesting greater ordering and density of fluorocarbon species at the surface of the ? COO(CH₂)_x(CF₂)_yF side‐chain polymers compared with the other polymers studied. For the ? COO(CH₂)₂(CF₂)₈F polymer a water contact angle of 124° is measured, which is greater than that of poly(tetrafluoroethene). The ? COO(CH₂)₂OCO(CF₂)F polymer is unusual in that it shows a particularly low water contact angle (83° ), suggesting that the probe fluid is able to sense both ester groups, consistent with the reduced ordering of the side‐chain detected by angle‐resolved XPS. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Two oxamido-bridged binuclear Cu–M complexes (M = Co<Superscript>II</Superscript>, Cu<Superscript>II</Superscript>): synthesis,crystal structures and magnetic studies

Two novel oxamido-bridged macrocyclic complexes, [LCu(CH₃OH)Co(phen)₂](ClO₄)₂·CH₃OH (1) and [LCu(CH₃OH) Cu(phen)₂](ClO₄)₂·CH₃OH (2) (where H₂L = 2,3-dioxo-5,6:13,14-dibenzo-7,10,12-trimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclo-tetradeca-7,12-diene, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), have been prepared by stepwise synthesis and characterized. In both complexes, each Cu(II) atom from the precursor ligand CuL is connected to a Co(II) (or Cu(II)) atom via the exo–cis oxygen atoms, resulting in a binuclear subunit. Magnetic susceptibility measurements in the 2–300 K temperature range have been taken for the two complexes.