Plasma homo- and copolymerizations of tetrafluoroethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene

The plasma homo- and copolymerizations of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and chlorotrifluoroethylene (CTFE) in a capacitively coupled tubular reactor (TR) with external electrodes were studied by means of microgravimetry and FT-IR and XPS analyses. The deposition rates for CTFE/TFE plasma copolymers, as well as the ratios of IR absorbances at 1180 and 1225 cm⁻¹, and the XPS-derived Cl/C and F/C ratios, varied regularly with mol % CTFE in the feed, all of which results were dependent upon the rf power at which the plasma copolymerizations were conducted. The deposition rates for the plasma homopolymers of TFE (PPTFE) and CTFE (PPTCFE) depended markedly on rf power (W) and monomer molar flow rate (F). The F/C ratio for PPTFE was nearly independent of the composite parameter,W/FM (whereM is the monomer molecular weight), while for PPCTFE, the F/C ratio decreased significantly and the Cl/C ratio increased slightly with increase inW/FM. The percentage of carbon as CF₃ was 20–24% in PPTFE and 7–14% in PPCTFE. Plots of deposition rate versusW/FM for PPTFE and PPCTFE obtained in a TR differed considerably from corresponding plots in the literature for the same homopolymers prepared in a glass-cross or bell-jar reactor.     

Relative rates for plasma homo- and copolymerizations of olefins in a homologous series of fluorinated ethylenes

It is well known that the rate of plasma polymerization, or deposition rate, of a given monomer depends on various plasma process parameters, e.g., monomer flow rate, pressure, power, frequency (DC, rf or microwave), location of the substrate in the reactor, reactor geometry or configuration, and temperature. In contrast, little work has been done to relate deposition rates to monomer structures for a homologous series of monomers where the rates are obtained under identical plasma process parameters. For the particular series of fluorinated ethylenes (C2HxF4-x; x = 0-4), deposition rates were reported for ethylene (ET), vinyl fluoride, vinylidene fluoride and tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), but for plasma polymerizations carried out under different discharge conditions, e.g., pressure, current density, and electrode temperature. Apparently, relative deposition rates were reported for only two members of that series (ET, x = 4, and TFE, x = 0) for which the plasma polymerizations were conducted under identical conditions. We now present relative deposition rates for both homopolymerizations and copolymerizations of the entire series of fluorinated ethylenes (x = 0-4). Our interest in such rates stems from prior work on the plasma copolymerization of ET and TFE in which it was found that the deposition rates for the plasma copolymers, when plotted versus mol % TFE in the ET/TFE feed stock, followed a concave-downward curve situated above the straight line joining the deposition rates for the plasma homopolymers. This type of plot (observed also for an argon-ET/TFE plasma copolymerization) indicated a positive interaction between ET and TFE such that each monomer apparently "sensitized" the plasma copolymerization of the other. Since the shape of that plot is not altered if mol % TFE is replaced by F/C, the fluorine-to-carbon ratio, this paper aims (1) to show how the relative deposition rates for plasma copolymers drawn from all pairs of monomers in the C2HxF4-x series, as well as the deposition rates for the individual plasma homopolymers, vary with F/C ratios of the monomers or monomer blends, and (2) to see if those rates give rise to a common plot.     

Relative Rates for Plasma Homo- and Copolymerizations of a Homologous Series of Fluorinated Ethylenes

The relative rates of plasma homo- and Copolymerizations of ethylene, vinyl fluoride, vinylidene fluoride, trifluoroethylene and tetrafluoroethylene (VF _x , x = 0–4, respectively) were determined in an rf, capacitively coupled, tubular reactor with external electrodes using identical plasma parameters. The deposition rates for VF _x (x = 1–3) and 20 different monomer blends, when plotted versus the F/C ratios of the monomers or monomer blends, followed a concave-downward curve situated above the straight-line joining the rates for VF₀ and VF₄. The deposition rates for VF _m /VF _n blends (m = 3 or 4; n = 0–2) likewise yielded concave-downward curves situated above the straight lines joining the rates for the respective monomers; the rates for VF _m /VF _n blends (m = 0 or 1; n = 1 or 2) yielded concave-upward curves situated below the straight lines joining the rates for the respective monomers; while the rates for VF₃/VF₄ blends fell along the straight line joining the rates for VF₃ and VF₄. The mechanisms for plasma (co) polymerizations of VF _x monomers responsible for the wide range of relative deposition rates remain to be elucidated.     

Preservation of the plasma ash pattern of biological specimens by subsequent coating with a plasma-polymerized thin film

A new technique for preservation of a plasma ashed pattern of a thin-sectioned biological specimen by subsequent coating of the ash with a polymer thin film deposited by plasma polymerization is described. A thin-sectioned rat liver specimen (10 μm thickness) supported by a glass slide was microincinerated in a reactor by using an oxygen glow discharge. The remaining ash was subsequently coated by a plasma polymerized thin film (4000 Å thickness) in the same plasma reactor using perfluorobutene-2 vapor as the monomer. The coated ash was mechanically strong and nonhygroscopic in ambient air so that the glass slide with the coated ash could be stored as a permanent preparation.