Surface characterization of hydrophilic coating obtained by low‐pressure CH₄O₂ plasma treatment on a polypropylene film

Abstract

The use of surface treatments at industrial level is generalized as they allow obtaining a wide variety of properties such as soft in the touch, hydrophilic behavior, and biocompatibility. The use of low-pressure plasma techniques with organic gases or organic mixtures is an easy way to obtain surface coatings very small in depth through plasma-polymerization processes that can be assimilated to a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process. In this work, we have carried out a plasma-polymerization process on a polypropylene (PP) film to obtain a hydrophilic coating. To obtain this, the film surface has been treated on a low-pressure plasma reactor with a methane-oxygen mixture gas with a volume ratio of 80 : 20, respectively. The chemistry changes in the outermost layers of the deposited coating have been investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The different processes that take part as a consequence of the interaction between the plasma gas species and the PP film surface mainly drive to the deposition of an organic layer, which is functionalized with oxygen-based species as XPS study reveals.

Enhanced Autohesive Bonding of Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) for Biomedical Applications Using a Methane/Oxygen Plasma Treatment

“…This material can be deposited onto substrates when a hydrocarbon gas is used as a precursor in a plasma polymerisation process 14, 15. Plasma treatment using CH 4 /O 2 gases has been shown to produce films with hydrophilic properties 16, 17. López et al17 reported a reduction in contact angle of about 50% on the surface of polypropylene when plasma treated using the CH 4 /O 2 gas medium.…”

“…Plasma treatment using CH 4 /O 2 gases has been shown to produce films with hydrophilic properties 16, 17. López et al17 reported a reduction in contact angle of about 50% on the surface of polypropylene when plasma treated using the CH 4 /O 2 gas medium. Incorporation of oxygen into an a‐C:H film has been reported to occur when oxygen was used in a mixture with hydrocarbons in a RF polymerisation process 16…”

Surface hydrophilic modifications on polypropylene membranes by remote methane/oxygen mixture plasma discharges

“…9 b) also shows the peaks for C -C group at 284.5 eV and C -H group at 285.0 eV; moreover, additional peaks at 286.0, 287.40, and 288.8 eV appear, which can be attributed to the -C -O, C = O, and O -C = O groups, respectively [19,20] . The percentage contributions of the C 1s components of CH 4 /O 2 plasma-treated PP membranes, calculated from the C 1s spectra, are listed in Table 1 troduces oxygen-containing functional groups into the molecular chains of the PP membrane surface [21] . These polar groups contribute to the increase in surface hydrophilicity of the PP membranes.…”

Annealing and ultraviolet treatment of plasma fluorocarbon films for enhanced cohesion and stability

“…However, the plasma polymerization process permitted better adhesion between the polymeric layer and the substrate because of the initial activation of the surface. Moreover, this technique can be used to rapidly deposit thin polymer films onto a wide variety of substrates, such as polymers,2–6 stainless steels,7 other metals,8, 9 glass,4 and silicon 8, 10. Furthermore, depending on the gas used during this process, different properties can be assessed, such those of as hydrophilic or hydrophobic surfaces, nonfouling or protective layers, or functionalization of an inert surface 2, 7.…”