Effect of Non‐Thermal Sulfur Hexafluoride Cold Plasma Modification on Surface Properties of Polyoxymethylene

X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy was employed to reveal the differences in the chemical structure of the topmost layer after plasma modification. It was found out that changes in the surface properties of the polymer could be observed even after 20 seconds of treatment. The surface becomes hydrophob...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemphyschem 2024-05, Vol.25 (10), p.e202300709-n/a
Main Authors: Chodkowski, Michał, Terpiłowski, Konrad, Románszki, Loránd, Klébert, Szilvia, Mohai, Miklós, Károly, Zoltán
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cold plasmas
Contact angle
Hydrophobicity
non-thermal plasma
Photoelectrons
plasma modification
polyoxymethylene
Sulfur hexafluoride
superhydrophobic
Surface properties
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Summary:X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy was employed to reveal the differences in the chemical structure of the topmost layer after plasma modification. It was found out that changes in the surface properties of the polymer could be observed even after 20 seconds of treatment. The surface becomes hydrophobic or superhydrophobic, with the water contact angles up to 160 degrees. Morphological changes and increased roughness can be observed only in the nanoscale, whereas the structure seems to be unaffected in the microscale. As a result of plasma modification a permanent hydrophobic effect was obtained on the polyoxymethylene surface. This paper deals with the surface modification of polyoxymethylene by the low‐pressure non‐thermal RF plasma using the sulfur hexafluoride plasma gas. The plasma treatment was performed based on various processing parameters including time, gas flow rate and plasma power. The effects were estimated on the basis of surface wettability determined by the water contact angle measurements. Morphological changes of the material surface were studied by scanning electron microscopy and optical profilometry.
ISSN:1439-4235
1439-7641
DOI:10.1002/cphc.202300709