Uniform Inner Surface Treatment of Tubes Using a Flexible Atmospheric Pressure Microplasma Jet Source

Abstract

Polymer tubes, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tubes and silicone tubes, are widely used in medical, biological and mechanical fields. 1 However, their intrinsic hydrophobic nature limits their applications. 2 In this work, uniform surface treatment on the inner wall of the polymer tubes was conducted by a flexible atmospheric pressure microplasma jet source (FμPJS). By directly inserting the FμPJS into the tubes, the energetic and reactive species in the microplasma could interact and react with/be deposited on the polymer surface without changing the polymer bulk properties. 3 Inner surface treatment through surface modification or silicon dioxide film polymerization on the inner surface of the PTFE tube were demonstrated by a He/O 2 microplasma treatment using hexamethyl disiloxane (HMDSO) as a precursor in this work. The properties of the t r e a t e d s ur fa c e s were characterized by water contact angle (WCA) measurements, scanning electron microscope (SEM), f ourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that their surface hydrophilicity can be improved and uniform hydrophilization was achieved along the tube. The obtained hydrophilicity could be stable after a month. It demonstrated that the FμPJS shows great potential for uniform and effective inner surface treatment of tubes and other hollow objects.