Surface Modification of Polyethylene (PE) Films Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

Abstract

Modification of the surface properties of polyethylene (PE) films is studied using air dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. The treated samples are examined by water contact angle measurements, Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). With the increase in treating time, the water contact angle changes from 93.2° before treatment to a minimum of 53.3° after a treatment for 50 s. Both ATR and XPS results show some oxidized species are introduced into the sample surface by the plasma treatment and the tendency of the water contact angle with the treating time is the same as that of oxygen concentration on the treated sample surface. SEM result shows the surface roughness of PE samples increases with the treatment time increasing.