Surface modification of polyethylene terephthalate implanted by argon ions

Abstract

Modification of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was carried out by 120 keV Ar +, 240 keV Ar 2+ and 360 keV Ar 3+ ions implantation. From measurement of UV absorption, optical band gaps under various implantation conditions were deduced with Tauc's plot. A dramatic decrease about 8 orders of magnitude of the sheet resistivity ( ρ s) was obtained and explained by the progressive narrowing of the band gap. Friction and wear behaviors of argon ion implanted PET against steel ball were investigated. The change of surface atom and molecular radical of irradiated PET was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. All results suggest that irradiation damage attributes to energy transferred by electronic excitation or ionization. The conducting property induced by implantation is attributed to the formation of conduction states in the pristine band gap.