Effect of Br gassing after Ar plasma treatment of polyolefins

Abstract

For simulation and acceleration of artificial polymer ageing, polyolefin foils were exposed to low-pressure Ar plasma. Plasma particle bombardment and irradiation induce C–C and C–H bond scissions by σ → σ ∗ excitations on the surface and in near-surface layers. Consequently, radicals are generated. They react by recombination, cross-linking, metastable trapping of the radical site or formation of olefinic double bonds. The long-living and metastable trapped C-radicals as well as double bonds in polyolefins were immediately exposed to bromine vapour without breaking the vacuum after switching-off the plasma. These reactive sites rapidly react with the molecular bromine under formation of C–Br bonds. For 5 min of argon plasma exposure, the elemental concentration of bromine was 13% for polyethylene and 22% Br/C for polypropylene as analysed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Nevertheless, not all C radical sites have reacted with bromine. Later on, when the polyolefins brought in contact with ambient air, an additional post-plasma reaction of the remaining trapped radicals with oxygen was observed. The oxygen concentrations were lower after bromine gassing, thus repressing partially the post-plasma oxidation in the analysed layer (ca. 6 nm) by radical quenching. Such bromination took place either at the surface or in near-surface layers because the Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR)-FTIR spectra (sampling depth ca. 2500 nm) did not show significant changes for argon plasma-treated PE foils with and without bromine vapour exposure. Further addition of bromine may also occur on C=C double bonds.