Abstract
The specific properties of an atmospheric pressure plasma make it an attractive tool for the surface treatment of various materials. With this in mind, this paper presents the results of experimental investigations of a polycarbonate (PC) material surface modification using this new type of argon microwave (2.45 GHz) plasma source. The uniqueness of the new plasma source lies in the shape of the generated plasma—in contrast to other microwave plasma sources, which usually provide a plasma in the form of a flame or column, the new ones provides a plasma in the shape of a regular plasma sheet. The influence of the absorbed microwave power and the number of scans on the changes of the wettability and morphological and mechanical properties of the plasma-treated PC samples was investigated. The mechanical properties and changes in roughness of the samples were measured by the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM). The wettability of the plasma-modified samples was tested by measuring the water contact angle. In order to confirm the plasma effect, each of the above-mentioned measurements was performed before and after plasma treatment. All experimental tests were performed with an argon of flow rate up to 20 L/min and the absorbed microwave power ranged from 300 to 850 W. The results prove the capability of the new atmospheric pressure plasma type in modifying the morphological and mechanical properties of PC surfaces for industrial applications.
Highlights
Polycarbonate plastic (PC) is characterised by its specific features, such as transparency, high toughness, high electrical insulation, high temperature resistance, and ease of machining and fabricating [1,2,3,4,5,6]
To prevent the ageing effect, the water contact angle was measured directly after the plasma treatment. As it can be seen from the figure, for all of the tested values of absorbed microwave power, the water contact angle decreased after plasma treatment
The presented results of our experimental studies contributed to the development of atmospheric pressure plasma-based technology for surface modification of polycarbonate materials
Summary
Polycarbonate plastic (PC) is characterised by its specific features, such as transparency, high toughness, high electrical insulation, high temperature resistance, and ease of machining and fabricating [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Like all plastic materials, PC is characterised by low surface free energy, resulting in poor wetting and adhesion properties [6,9,10]. To improve the wetting and adhesion properties, the activation of PC surfaces is necessary to improve the bonding of the inks used for printing. Except for old means of mechanical surface activation, there are chemical and physicochemical methods of plastic material surface activation [11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
