Illustration of the interface between N2/CO2 plasmas and polystyrene surface

Abstract

AbstractPlasma treatment results in the surface modification of materials and its effects generally can be examined by surface analytical methods such as contact angle measurement, XPS, atomic force microscopy, etc. In situ studies such as mass spectrometry and optical emission spectroscopy usually have been employed to analyse the reactive species in the plasma phase and provide information related to the mechanism of plasma treatment processes. This work shows that in situ studies not only verify the results of plasma treatment but also can provide a more effective method to analyse the mechanism of the plasma/surface interaction process, such as identification of the reactive species leading to functionalization of the surface and the species resulting from surface degradation. These real‐time diagnostic methods confirm the suitable treatment conditions for both N2 and CO2 plasmas for an applied power range of 20–40 W and a flow rate of 5–10 sccm, as shown previously with ex situ surface analyses. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.