Modification of the wettability of a poly(ethylene terephthalate) film treated by corona discharge in air

Abstract

AbstractThe wettability of poly(ethylene terephthalate) films is an important criterion for their industrial use. The attainment of that property is realized by treatment of the material under corona discharge. The purpose of this article is to describe the influence of the principal parameters of the discharge on the modification of the surface properties; the influence was measured by physicochemical methods (ESCA, contact angle). The results prove that the most important physical parameters of the discharge are the wire‐cylinder distance, the current intensity, and the time of treatment. The analysis shows that the fixed species are oxygen and nitrogen in the form of carboxylic functions and amines or nitrogen oxides. In any case, the correlation between free surface energy and concentration of fixed chemical species shows that the surface properties depend on the chemical functions introduced into the material by the discharge.