High-Performance and Water Resistant PVA-Based Films Modified by Air Plasma Treatment

Abstract

Plasma treatment is considered a straightforward, cost-effective, and environmental-friendly technique for surface modification of film materials. In this study, air plasma treatment was applied for performance improvement of pure PVA, cellulose nanocrystal (CNC)/PVA, and CNC/oxalic acid (OA)/PVA films. Compared with the original performance of pure PVA, the mechanical properties and water resistance of air plasma treated films were greatly improved. Among them, the CNC/OA/PVA film treated by three minutes of air plasma irradiation exhibits the most remarkable performance in mechanical properties (tensile strength: 132.7 MPa; Young’s modulus: 5379.9 MPa) and water resistance (degree of swelling: 47.5%; solubility: 6.0%). By means of various modern characterization methods, the wettability, surface chemical structure, surface roughness, and thermal stability of different films before and after air plasma treatment were further revealed. Based on the results obtained, the air plasma treatment only changed the surface chemical structure, surface roughness, and hydrophobicity, while keeping the inner structure of films intact.

Plasma Surface Treatment and Application of Polyvinyl Alcohol/Polylactic Acid Electrospun Fibrous Hemostatic Membrane

“…It can be seen that no new functional groups appear and the relative contents of the functional groups change, as shown in Tables S7 and S8 . Results show that increasing power and extending treatment time lead to a decrease in C–C bonds and an increase in C=O, C–OOH bonds, which is generally consistent with the results of other studies [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. This implies that plasma treatment generates partial molecular chain breakage and slight carboxylation [ 36 ].…”

Dyeable Hydrophilic Surface Modification for PTFE Substrates by Surface Fluorination

“…However, these methods can readily damage PTFE structures and cause environmental pollution. As a dry treatment method, plasma treatment is widely used for the surface modification of PTFE, which can introduce a variety of active functional groups on the surface in a short time [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. However, the wettability after plasma treatment depends on numerous process parameters, such as the type of discharge, feed gas, working pressure, input power, and treatment time.…”

Humidity‐Responsive Polyvinyl Alcohol/Microcrystalline Cellulose Composites with Shape Memory Features for Hair‐Styling Applications

“…[ 17 ] Nano‐ and micro‐sized celluloses are employed as well‐designed fillers in the medical, cosmetic, filtration, and food packaging fields because their intramolecular hydrogen bonds provide stiffness to the polymer chain and improve the mechanical properties of composite materials. [ 18–21 ] The presence of hydroxyl groups in cellulose facilitates the formation of hydrogen bonds with PVA; therefore, good composite properties and satisfactory performance, such as improved mechanical and barrier properties, [ 22,23 ] high moisture resistance and thermal stability, [ 24,25 ] and superior UV absorption, [ 26,27 ] have been achieved through the interaction between cellulose and PVA. Although excellent cellulose‐based materials have been successfully applied, more approaches still need to be explored for practical applications.…”