Alteration in the surface properties of direct-current discharge-treated tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer films

A change in the contact properties of the surface of a tetrafluoroethylene-ethylene copolymer film by treatment of its samples mounted on the cathode and anode in a dc discharge has been studied. It has been shown that the modification leads to a significant improvement in the contact properties of the films owing to the appearance of oxygen-containing polar groups on the polymer surface. The formation of such groups has been proved by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The peel strength of both the untreated and modified films was measured by the T-peel test method.