Nitrogen Plasma Modification and Chemical Derivatization of Polyethylene Surfaces – An In Situ Study Using FTIR‐ATR Spectroscopy

Abstract

AbstractChemical derivatization reactions of nitrogen plasma‐treated surfaces with aromatic aldehydes, such as the prototypic 4‐trifluoromethyl‐benzaldehyde (TFBA), have for a long time been considered selective for primary amines. Results of an in situ study using FTIR‐ATR spectroscopy challenge the validity of this assumption: Modification of polyethylene surfaces by afterglows of dielectric barrier discharges in nitrogen–hydrogen mixtures with subsequent hydrogen/deuterium exchange or TFBA derivatization suggests that the latter does not follow the commonly assumed reaction scheme.