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    Oxygen plasma surface treatment of polymer films-Pellethane 55DE and EPR-g-VTMS

    Year: 2021

    Journal: Appl. Surf. Sci., Volume 536, JAN 15

    Authors: Mrsic, Ivana; Baeuerle, Tim; Ulitzsch, Steffen; Lorenz, Guenter; Rebner, Karsten; Kandelbauer, Andreas; Chasse, Thomas

    Organizations: German Research Council (DFG, Germany) [INST 37/829-1 FUGG]; MWK BadenWurttemberg, Germany

    Keywords: Plasma surface modification; Design of experiments; XPS; Surface energy; Polyurethane; EPR-g-VTMS

    A systematic study using a central composite design of experiments (DoE) was performed on the oxygen plasma surface modifications of two different polymers-Pellethane 2363-55DE, which is a polyurethane, and vinyltrimethoxysilane-grafted ethylene-propylene (EPR-g-VTMS), a cross-linked ethylene-propylene rubber. The impacts of four parameters-gas pressure, generator power, treatment duration, and process temperature-were assessed, with static contact angles and calculated surface free energies (SFEs) as the main responses in the DoE. The plasma effects on the surface roughness and chemistry were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Through the sufficiently accurate DoE model evaluation, oxygen gas pressure was established as the most impactful factor, with the surface energy and polarity rising with falling oxygen pressure. Both polymers, though different in composition, exhibited similar modification trends in surface energy rise in the studied system. The SEM images showed a rougher surface topography after low pressure plasma treatments. XPS and subsequent multivariate data analysis of the spectra established that higher oxidized species were formed with plasma treatments at low oxygen pressures of 0.2 mbar.
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