The influence of side groups and polarity of polymers on the kind and effectiveness of their surface modification by air plasma action

The changes of contact angle (θ) and surface free energy (γ_S) under low-temperature air plasma in the polymers of different chemical structure and polarity (polyethylene, PE; polypropylene, PP; poly(ethylene terephtalate), PET and poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA) pointed out to the greater effect of short-time plasma action (5-15 s) on these parameters as compared to longer times of exposure.The non-reversion effect of θ changes caused by plasma in PE and PP suggests that the oxidation processes mainly decide about values in nonpolar polymers. The significantly greater θ changes in PE than those in PP indicate that the side groups present in the main chains impede oxidation of such a polymer by plasma.The reversion of θ changes in PET and in PMMA, and return of these values to almost the initial ones after 10 min storage proves that the main reason for θ changes in polar polymers is a certain alteration of the chain conformation.These changes, taking place after longer plasma treatment, suggest that the side ester groups in PMMA retard the above-mentioned conformational transformations. Then, in both kinds of polymers (polar and nonpolar) the structure of macrochain decides about the efficiency of reaction caused by plasma, and at the same time the side groups retard not only the oxidation processes but the conformational changes as well.     

用于气相色谱的微波等离子体原子发射光谱检测器的发展

分别介绍和评价了用于气相色谱的微波诱导等离子体、电容耦合微波等离子体和微波等离子体炬等3种微波等离子体原子发射光谱检测器的发展、应用以及局限性。对用于气相色谱的微波等离子体原子发射光谱检测器的发展作了展望。     

Expanded poly(tetrafluoroethylene) membrane surface modification using acetylene/nitrogen plasma treatment

In this article, expanded poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (e-PTFE) membrane surface modification was carried out using acetylene/nitrogen plasma treatment (p-e-PTFE). The variation in surface morphology of the p-e-PTFE membranes was confirmed by FTIR-ATR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurements. It was found that the surface hydrophilicity increased with increasing nitrogen content in the feed gas mixture, RF power, and plasma treatment time. The surface pore size decreased with increasing RF power and plasma treatment time. The water contact angles of the modified e-PTFE membrane decreased from 125.8° to 34.1° through the acetylene/nitrogen plasma treatment.     

Manipulating the surface properties of polyacrylamide with nitrogen plasma

Polyacrylamide (PAL) was physically adsorbed onto a hydroxylated silicon surface to form a uniform PAL film and the up-top PAL thin film was treated by nitrogen (N₂) plasma for surface modification. The atomic composition of the modified surface of the PAL film adsorbed on silicon substrate was analyzed with Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface energy of PAL film was calculated from the data of contact angle of three-probe liquid. The FTIR results show an increase of peak intensity at 1214 cm⁻¹ (NH₂ stretch vibration) after the nitrogen plasma treatment, which confirms that the nitrogen was grafted to the PAL surface in the process of N₂-plasma treatment. The XPS results show that the ratio of relative intensity of N1s to O1s increases with increasing the plasma treatment time, which further affirms the formation of the amine groups on the PAL surface after the nitrogen plasma treatment. The surface tension increases with increasing the plasma grafting time. However, the surface energy decreases rapidly at the early stage when stored in air and approaches to an equilibrium value. It suggests that some physically-adsorbed ions and alkyl radicals on PAL surface can rapidly lose their activities. The increase of the surface tension of the plasma treated PLA films is due to the amine groups covalently grafted to PAL surface.     

微波等离子体光谱技术的发展(二)

微波等离子体光源是一类重要的有较强激发能力的原子发射光谱光源,主要包括微波感生等离子体光源,电容耦合微波等离子体光源及微波等离子体炬光源。本文是微波等离子体光谱技术发展的第二部分,主要介绍了电容耦合微波等离子体光源及微波等离子体炬光源的结构原理和性能。并对它们的技术特点和进展进行评述。     

ESCA study of polymer surfaces treated by plasma

Surfaces of polymers [polyethylene, polystyrene, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(oxymethylene), cellulose acetate, polyacrylonitrile, nylon 6, and polytetrafluoroethylene] treated with argon (inert) and nitrogen (reactive) plasma were examined by ESCA (electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis). Argon plasma treatment generally introduces oxygen functionalities into the polymer surface. Nitrogen treatment generally incorporates nitrogen and oxygen functionalities into the treated surface. The extent of oxygen incorporation is typically less than that produced by argon plasma. When nitrogen and oxygen functional groups are already in a polymer structure, the extent of additional incorporation of these two elements as a result of plasma treatment is very much less than with other polymers. Polymers which contain only one of the elements tend to incorporate the other element to much the same degree as polymers without either element initially present.     

Surface modification of high-performance polymeric fibers by an oxygen plasma. A comparative study of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) and poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole)

Poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) and poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers were exposed to an oxygen plasma under equivalent conditions. The resulting changes in the surface properties of PPTA and PBO were comparatively investigated using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Both non-polar (n-alkanes) and polar probes of different acid-base characteristics were used in IGC adsorption experiments. Following plasma exposure, size-exclusion phenomena, probably associated to the formation of pores (nanoroughness), were detected with the largest n-alkanes (C(9) and C(10)). From the adsorption of polar probes, an increase in the number or strength of the acidic and basic sites present at the fiber surfaces following plasma treatment was detected. The effects of the oxygen plasma treatments were similar for PPTA and PBO. In both cases, oxygen plasma introduces polar groups onto the surfaces, involving an increase in the degree of surface nanoroughness. AFM measurements evidenced substantial changes in the surface morphology at the nanometer scale, especially after plasma exposure for a long time. For the PBO fibers, the outermost layer - contaminant substances - was removed thanks to the plasma treatment, which indicates that this agent had a surface cleaning effect.     

Influence of oxygen plasma treatment on poly(ether sulphone) films

Poly(ether sulphone) (PES) is one of the most widely used materials in the micro-electronics industry and a good candidate for the substrates of flexible optoelectronic devices. In this work, the influences of oxygen plasma treatment on the surface chemical composition, surface morphology and optical transparency of PES films were investigated by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and UV-visible spectrophotometry. The possible relations between the optical transparency of the substrate and the surface roughness and chemical composition were also studied. The oxygen plasma treatment seriously changed the surface chemical composition and made the surface more rough. Considerable amounts of sulphate species were found on the plasma-treated surface and the surface roughness values (R_a) increased monotonically with the increase of the treatment time. The PES films treated by 5 min, 15 min, 30 min and 45 min oxygen plasma demonstrated transmission of approximately 98, 94, 68 and 46%, respectively, in the wavelength range of 400-780 nm. The oxygen plasma induced decline of optical transparency of PES films might be attributed to both the increase of surface roughness and the changes of chemical composition of the film surface.     

丙醛的等离子体聚合以及聚合物的结构与性质初探

应用外部电容耦合式等离子体聚合方法,制得了丙醛聚合物,研究了不同的等离子体条件对丙醛的聚合行为的影响。通过元素分析、红外光谱分析、色谱-质谱联合分析、X-射线衍射、润湿性测定等手段研完发现,聚合物为无定形交联结构,表面能为41—45达因/厘米。     

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.     

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.     

Biofouling-resistance expanded poly(tetrafluoroethylene) membrane with a hydrogel-like layer of surface-immobilized poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate for human plasma protein repulsions

In general, it is a challenge to control the highly polar material grafting from the chemically inert Teflon-based membrane surface. This work describes the surface modification and characterization of expanded poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (ePTFE) membranes grafted with poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) macromonomer via surface-activated plasma treatment and thermally induced graft copolymerization. The chemical composition and microstructure of the surface-modified ePTFE membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), contact angle, and bio-atomic force microscopy (bio-AFM) measurements. Biofouling property of the modified membranes was evaluated by the measurements of the plasma protein (γ-globulin, fibrinogen, or albumin) adsorption determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In general, the hydrophilicity of the surface of ePTFE membranes increases with increasing the grafting degree of the copolymerized PEGMA. The highly hydrated PEGMA chain on the resulting ePTFE membranes was found to form a surface hydrogel-like layer with regulated coverage in aqueous state, which can be controlled by the content of PEGMA macromonomer in the reaction solution. The relative protein adsorption was effectively reduced with increasing capacity of the hydration for the PEGMA chain grafted on the ePTFE membrane surface. From both results of protein adsorption and platelet adhesion test in vitro, it is concluded that the PEGMA-grafted hydrophilic ePTFE membranes could provide good biofouling resistance to substantially reduce plasma protein and blood platelet fouling on the membrane surface in human body temperature.     

Isoelectric points of plasma‐modified and aged silicon oxynitride surfaces measured using contact angle titrations

Acid‐base properties of metal oxides and polymers can control adhesion properties between materials, electrical properties, the physical structure of the material and gas adsorption behavior. To determine the relationships between surface isoelectric point, chemical composition and aging effects, plasma‐surface treatment of amorphous silicon oxynitride (SiO_xN_y) substrates was explored using Ar, H₂O vapor, and NH₃ inductively coupled rf plasmas. Overall, the Ar plasma treatment resulted in nonpermanent changes to the surface properties, whereas the H₂O and NH₃ plasmas introduced permanent chemical changes to the SiO_xN_y surfaces. In particular, the H₂O plasma treatments resulted in formation of a more ordered SiO₂ surface, whereas the NH₃ plasma created a nitrogen‐rich surface. The trends in isoelectric point and chemical changes upon aging for one month suggest that contact angle and composition are closely related, whereas the relationship between IEP and composition is not as directly correlated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aging of a medical device surface following cold plasma treatment: Influence of low molecular weight compounds on surface recovery

The surface of medical devices is of great importance for biocompatibility. Surface properties can evolve with a material treatment, time, and storage conditions. In this work, poly(urethane) catheters sterilised by cold nitrogen plasma treatment, were subjected to air and temperature aging in order to evaluate the influence of humidity and temperature on surface recovery. The surface of catheters was analysed by contact angle measurements and XPS. Faster surface changes upon aging were observed at high temperature (45 °C) and relative humidity (90%). For the commercial poly(urethane) catheters analysed in this work, the importance of the nature and polymorphism of additives added to the polymer (lubricant, antioxidant) in the recovery process was demonstrated. Indeed, DSC and TSC showed that additive transitions (relaxation, melting…) could govern the aging process.     

乙烯等离子体处理的云母表面结构及表面性质

用元素分析、色-质谱、裂解气相色谱和顺磁共振等方法研究了经乙烯等离子体处理的云母表面化学结构及处理过程。结果表明,云母颗粒表面形成了厚数十埃的等离子体聚乙烯膜,其化学结构与反应体系中无云母时得到的等离子体聚乙烯膜相同。通过扫描电镜观察到云母片表面的聚合膜具有规则的海星状花样,随处理时间的延长花样按比例长大。水与云母表面的接触角数据说明,乙烯等离子体处理使云母表面的疏水性提高到聚乙烯的水平,比氩气等离子体、硅烷偶联剂及钛酸酯偶联剂处理的效果均更为显著。     

含二氮杂萘酮结构聚醚砜酮膜的微波等离子体处理研究

含二氮杂萘酮结构型聚醚砜酮(ＰＰＥＳＫ)是近年来本研究组开发成功的新型耐高温聚合物[1].该聚合物具有优异的力学性能和突出的耐热性,玻璃化转变温度(Ｔｇ)为265～305℃(随砜酮比不同而变化),其结构式如下:ＯＮＮＯＳＯＯＯＮＮＯＣＯ　　研究表明,用ＰＰＥＳＫ制成的气体分离膜对Ｏ2/Ｎ2、ＣＯ2/Ｎ2有良好的气体渗透性和透过选择性[2,3],但由于其亲水性不高进而限制了它在纳滤膜和反渗透膜等方面的应用,因此有必要对其进行改性.目前,常用的膜及膜材料改性的方法有磺化、氯甲基化季胺化、接枝等化学改性和低温等离子体与辐射等物理改性.其…     

Polyelectrolyte Adsorption on NH3-Plasma-Treated Poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene)

A two-step procedure for a permanently hydrophilic surface modification of poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP, fluorinated ethylene propylene) was studied. In the first step a cationic polymer surface was created by low-pressure ammonia plasma treatment introducing nitrogen-containing functional groups. Afterwards, the anionic poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) was adsorbed onto the plasma-treated FEP surface. The adsorption was assumed to be controlled by ionic interactions. The modification effects and their long-term behavior were evaluated by means of water contact angle goniometry. Furthermore, electrokinetic measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used for surface characterization.     

The effect of plasma treatment on structure and properties of poly(1-butene) surface

This paper is focused on the chemical and morphology changes in the surface of poly(1-butene) (PB-1) generated by plasma treatment. The radio frequency capacitively coupled plasma (air, argon, argon then allylamine, argon containing ammonia and argon with octafluorocyclobutane) was used. Modified surface of PB-1 was characterized by contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The surface hydrophilization by air and argon with ammonia plasmas was evaluated as most sufficient. Oppositely, a high level of hydrophobicity of PB-1 surface was reached by combination of argon with octafluorocyclobutane plasma. Upon plasma modification, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of treated surfaces remained stable within three days under air atmosphere and then values of contact angle slowly recovered to those of unmodified PB-1. However, morphology and surface chemical composition of plasma-modified samples remained generally unchanged during observed time. Changes in surface hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of plasma-treated PB-1 were attributed to variance of conformation of the surface molecules.     

Plasma reactions of self-assembled monolayers to model oxygen atom effects on polymers

The plasma treatment of self-assembled monolayers of octadecyl mercaptan on gold substrates has been investigated as a model for oxygen atom effects on polymers. Both O₂ and H₂O low pressure gas plasmas have been used. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has revealed that the two plasma treatments differ from each other in the extent of oxidation and etch rate with O₂ being the more aggressive plasma. The results have confirmed that the plasma modification of organic surfaces involves a balance between surface oxidation and surface etching. The well-defined structure of the monolayer enables quantitation of these atom-substrate reactions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

氧等离子体改性聚乙烯表面的疏水性过回复机制

用200 W射频容性耦合氧等离子体处理低密度聚乙烯(LDPE)表面1 min, 研究了老化温度及时间对LDPE表面成分、 形貌和润湿性的影响. 扫描电子显微镜结果表明, 等离子体改性LDPE表面出现纳米凸点织构, 在60和90 ℃老化24 h后纳米凸点织构特征基本保持稳定. X射线光电子能谱分析表明, 等离子体改性LDPE表面经60 ℃老化24 h后, C—C含量由76.9%增至83.0%, C—O, CO和O—CO含量分别由16.4%, 2.2%和4.5%降至13.1%, 1.9%和2.0%. 经90 ℃老化24 h后, C—C含量较60 ℃老化表面增至84.1%, C—O含量分别降至10.1%, CO和O—CO含量分别增至3.1%和2.7%. 等离子体改性LDPE表面接触角由97.2°降至42.3°, 经60 ℃老化24 h后接触角增至95.9°, 经90 ℃老化24 h后接触角增至104.2°, 等离子体改性LDPE表面发生“疏水性过回复”. 根据含有粗糙因子的接触角随时间演变模型, 得到了具有纳米凸点织构LDPE表面在不同老化温度下的可移动极性基团所占面积分数(\begin{array}{c}{f}_m^p\end{array})、 固定极性基团所占面积分数(\begin{array}{c}{f}_{\mathit{im}}^p\end{array})和特征时间常数(τ)3个成分重构参数, 解释了“疏水性过回复”现象.