Increasing Plasma Treatment Time Research Articles

Preparation and characterization of ZnO-deposited DBD plasma-treated PP packaging film with antibacterial activities

Zinc oxide (ZnO)-deposited polypropylene (PP) packaging film was prepared with the aid of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment. The surface hydrophilicity of PP film was found to increase after the DBD plasma treatment due to the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups on the DBD plasma-treated PP surface. Although the surface roughness of the DBD plasma-treated PP film gradually increased with increasing plasma treatment time, the DBD plasma treatment insignificantly affected the mechanical properties of the PP film. The DBD plasma treatment time was found to be optimized at 10s. The DBD plasma-treated PP film was further immersed in an aqueous zinc nitrate (Zn(NO3)2) solution at different concentrations before being converted to ZnO particles with the use of a 2.5M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution, followed by sonication. The highest amount of ZnO deposited on the DBD plasma-treated PP surface was about 0.26wt.% at the optimum Zn(NO3)2 concentration of 0.5M. The ZnO-deposited DBD plasma-treated PP film showed good antibacterial activities against gram-positive Staphylococcus auerus and gram-negative Escherichia coli.

Influence of argon plasma treatment on polyethersulphone surface

Polyethersulphone (PES) was modified to improve the hydrophilicity of its surface, which in turn helps in improving its adhesive property. The modified PES surface was characterized by contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Vicker’s microhardness measurement. The contact angles of the modified PES reduces from 49° to 10° for water. The surface free energy (SFE) calculated from measured contact angles increases from 66.3 to 79.5 mJ/m2 with the increase in plasma treatment time. The increase in SFE after plasma treatment is attributed to the functionalization of the polymer surface with hydrophilic groups. The XPS analysis shows that the ratio of O/C increases from 0.177 to 0.277 for modified PES polymer. AFM shows that the average surface roughness increases from 6.9 nm to 23.7 nm due to the increase in plasma treatment time. The microhardness of the film also increases with plasma treatment.

Direct Preparation of Hydrogen and Carbon Nanotubes by Microwave Plasma Decomposition of Methane over Fe/Si Activated by Biased Hydrogen Plasma

Methane was decomposed to hydrogen and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by microwave plasma, using Fe/Si catalyst activated by biased (—150 V) hydrogen plasma for various treatment times. Upon exposure to biased hydrogen plasma, the catalyst surface becomes lumpy within 1 min, coheres between 5 and 10 min and forms particles after 20 min. The methane conversion increased up to 93% over the treatment time of 5 min. The hydrogen yield showed as similar tendency as the methane conversion and kept 83% at treatment time of 5 min. The treatment time up to 1 min increased the amount of deposited carbon, and after treatment time of 5 min it dropped; then again after treatment time of 20 min, it increased to reach a maximum value of 22 gc/gcat. Deposited carbon was found to be consisted of carbon nanotubes. It grew vertically on the catalyst surface and reached a maximum length of 30.7 nm after treatment time of 10 min. Multiple types of CNTs were present, and the CNT diameters decreased with increasing plasma treatment time.

Surface Modification of Electrospun Polyvinylidene Fluoride Nanofiber Membrane by Plasma Treatment for Protein Detection

Electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofiber membranes have 3-dementional (3-D) open pore channel and hence have excellent application potential in Western blot. In this study we have modified electrospun PVDF nanofiber membrane by argon (Ar) plasma treatment to improve the surface hydrophilic and detection sensitivity. The results showed that the detection sensitivity of the Ar plasma-treated PVDF nanofiber membrane increased with increasing plasma treatment time without the need for a methanol pre-wet step. This suggests that the Ar plasma treated PVDF nanofiber membrane can be useful in Western blot with high sensitivity and without methanol pre-wet step.

Influence of silk surface modification via plasma treatments on adsorption kinetics of lac dyeing on silk

Silk fiber surfaces were modified using oxygen and argon plasma treatments. Adsorption kinetics of lac dyeing on silk fibers was investigated. The treated silk surfaces were notably roughened and the surface roughness was increased with increasing plasma treatment time. The adsorption of lac dye on the untreated silks and treated silks was found to follow the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. The adsorption reached the equilibrium at a dyeing time of about 60 min. As seen from the amount of dye adsorbed at equilibrium, the adsorption capacity for the pretreated silks was much improved when compared with that of the untreated sample. The best improvement of adsorption capacity was found in the argon-treated silk-containing system.

Investigation of surface properties of Ar-plasma treated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films

The effect of low energy argon plasma treatment on the surfaces of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was investigated by means of contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Vickers’ microhardness indentation and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was observed that the surface free energy (SFE) changes from 42.1mJ/m2 to 85.1mJ/m2 with the increase of plasma treatment time and the corresponding contact angle changes from 60o to 15o. The increase in SFE after plasma treatment is attributed to the functionalization of the polymer surface with hydrophilic groups. The XPS analysis shows the increase in C–O and CO groups after plasma treatment of the polymer surface. The microhardness of the film increases with the treatment time. This may be attributed to the cross linking effect at the surface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveals that average surface roughness increases from 5.8nm to 49.7nm as treatment time increases.

Preparation and Characterization of Chitosan-Coated DBD Plasma-Treated Natural Rubber Latex Medical Surgical Gloves with Antibacterial Activities

The natural rubber latex (NRL) film taken from medical surgical gloves was surface-modified with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment under an air environment. The results showed that surface hydrophilicity of the NRL film increased after the plasma treatment due to the presence of oxygen-containing polar groups on the plasma-treated surface. An increase in plasma treatment time increased the surface roughness of the NRL film, and eventually decreased the mechanical properties. From the obtained results, the optimum plasma treatment time of 20 s was chosen. After immersion in a chitosan solution, the amount of chitosan deposited on the plasma-treated NRL film increased with increasing chitosan concentrations. The chitosan coating smoothed the surface of the plasma-treated NRL film and also improved the mechanical properties. The highest antibacterial activities of the chitosan-coated DBD plasma-treated NRL film against both Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were achieved when a 2 %(w/v) chitosan solution was used for the coating.

Plasma Enhancement of In Vitro Attachment of Rat Bone-Marrow-Derived Stem Cells on Cross-Linked Gelatin Films

In this work, nitrogen, oxygen and air glow discharges powered by 50 Hz AC power supply are used for the treatment of type-A gelatin film cross-linked by a dehydrothermal (DHT) process. The properties of cross-linked gelatin were characterized by contact angle measurement, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. The results showed that the water contact angle of gelatin films decrease with increasing plasma treatment time. The treatment of nitrogen, oxygen and air plasma up to 30 s had no effects on the surface roughness of the gelatin film as revealed by AFM results. The XPS analysis showed that the N-containing functional groups generated by nitrogen and air plasma, and O-containing functional groups generated by oxygen and air plasmas were incorporated onto the film surface, the functional groups were found to increase with increasing treatment time. An in vitro test using rat bone-marrow-mesenchym-derived stem cells (MSCs) revealed that the number of cells attached on plasma-treated gelatin films was significantly increased compared to untreated samples. The best enhancement of cell attachment was noticed when the film was treated with nitrogen plasma for 15–30 s, oxygen plasma for 3 s, and air plasma for 9 s. In addition, among the three types of plasmas used, nitrogen plasma treatment gave the best MSCs attachment on the gelatin surface. The results suggest that a type-A gelatin film with water contact angle of 27–28° and an O/N ratio of 1.4 is most suitable for MSCs attachment.

Investigation of Surface Free Energy for PTFE Polymer by Bipolar Argon Plasma Treatment

The low ion energy argon plasma was used for surface modification of Poly tetra fluoroethylene (PTFE) polymer. The plasma was generated between two plane metal electrode by using 50 kHz bipolar power supply. The plasma treated surface was characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The surface free energy (SFE) of plasma treated surface was calculated from contact angle measurement. SFE increases from 33.39 mJ/m2 to 41.40 mJ/m2 with the increase in plasma treatment time and the corresponding contact angle changed from 76? to 60?. XPS study shows that F/C ratio change from 1.8 (untreated) to 1.3 (treated) and O/C ratio changes from 0.094 (untreated) to 0.148 (treated). The XPS analysis shows that both F1s and the C1s spectra for PTFE are marginally modified by plasma treatment. AFM study shows that the average surface roughness (Ra) increased from 8.5 nm to 22.8 nm after plasma treatment. Vicker’s micro hardness of the film increases upon plasma treatment. The increase in SFE after plasma treatment is attributed to the functionalization of the polymer surface with hydrophilic groups as supported from the above observations.

Influence of He/O2 atmospheric pressure plasma jet treatment on subsequent wet desizing of polyacrylate on PET fabrics

The influence of He/O2 atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) treatment on subsequent wet desizing of polyacrylate on PET fabrics was studied in the present paper. Weight loss results indicated that the weight loss increased with an increase of plasma treatment time. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed an increased surface roughness after the plasma treatment. SEM also showed that the fiber surfaces were as clean as unsized fibers after 35s treatment followed by NaHCO3 desizing. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that oxygen-based functional groups increased for the plasma treated polyacrylate sized fabrics. The percent desizing ratio (PDR) results showed that more than 99% PDR was achieved after 65s plasma treatment followed by a 5min NaHCO3 desizing. Compared to conventional wet desizing, indicating that plasma treatment could significantly reduce desizing time.

Amplifying Charge‐Transfer Characteristics of Graphene for Triiodide Reduction in Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells

AbstractThe fabrication and functionalization of large‐area graphene and its electrocatalytic properties for iodine reduction in a dye‐sensitized solar cell are reported. The graphene film, grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition, contains three to five layers of monolayer graphene, as confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy. Further, the graphene film is treated with CF4 reactive‐ion plasma and fluorine ions are successfully doped into graphene as confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV‐photoemission spectroscopy. The fluorinated graphene shows no structural deformations compared to the pristine graphene except an increase in surface roughness. Electrochemical characterization reveals that the catalytic activity of graphene for iodine reduction increases with increasing plasma treatment time, which is attributed to an increase in catalytic sites. Further, the fluorinated graphene is characterized in use as a counter‐electrode in a full dye‐sensitized solar cell and shows ca. 2.56% photon to electron conversion efficiency with ca. 11 mA cm−2 current density. The shift in work function in F− doped graphene is attributed to the shift in graphene redox potential which results in graphene's electrocatalytic‐activity enhancement.

대면적 대기압 플라즈마-용액 시스템을 이용한 폴리프로필렌 표면 처리

대면적 대기압 플라즈마 반응 장비를 플라즈마-용액 시스템에 적용하여 액상 내부에 잠입된 폴리프로필렌(PP) 필름의 표면손상 없이 관능기 도입 가능성을 탐색하였다. 액상으로 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate: <TEX>$[BMIM]^{+}[BF_{4}]^{-}$</TEX> 이온성 액체 수용액을 사용한 경우, 안정적으로 플라즈마를 발생시킬 수 있었다. PP 필름의 플라즈마 처리 결과, PP 표면에 다양한 산소 함유 관능기들이 도입되었음을 확인할 수 있었다. 플라즈마 처리 후 PP의 표면 자유에너지는 처리시간, 전압의 증가에 따라서 증가하며, 1.5M 이온성 액체 수용액 농도에서 가장 큰 값을 나타내었다. ATR-FTIR 분석 결과, 다양한 카르보닐 기(1,726 <TEX>$cm^{-1}$</TEX>, 1,643 <TEX>$cm^{-1}$</TEX>)와 하이드록시 기<TEX>$(3,100{\sim}3,500\;cm^{-1})$</TEX>의 흡광도가 증가하였고, XPS 분석은 ATR-FTIR 분석 결과를 뒷받침하여 주었다. We investigated the possibility of introducing functional groups without damaging surface polymeric chains through the treatment of a polypropylene(PP) film immersed in liquid phase using an atmospheric pressure plasma with large area. The ionic liquid of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate: <TEX>$[BMIM]^{+}[BF_{4}]^{-}$</TEX>- was successfully applied for generating stable plasmas in the plasma-solution system. We successfully treated the film surface using the plasma-solution system and confirmed various oxygen-containing functional groups formed on the surface of PP film. The surface free energy of PP film was increased with increasing plasma treatment time and power. It also showed a maximum value at the PP sample treated in the ionic liquid solution of 1.5 M. ATR-FTIR analyses revealed the increase of various carbonyl groups(1,726 <TEX>$cm^{-1}$</TEX>, 1,643 <TEX>$cm^{-1}$</TEX>) and OH groups<TEX>$(3,100{\sim}3,500\;cm^{-1})$</TEX> after plasma treatment of PP film, and XPS also supported the ATR-FTIR result.

Plasma surface modification of nanofiltration (NF) thin-film composite (TFC) membranes to improve anti organic fouling

Commercial nanofiltration (NF) thin-film composite (TFC) membranes were treated by low-pressure NH3 plasma, and the effects of the plasma treatment were investigated in terms of the membrane hydrophilicity, pure water flux, salt rejection, protein adsorption, and humic acid fouling. Experimental results indicated that the membrane surface hydrophilicity was increased by the plasma treatment, and changes in the hydrophilicity as well as membrane performance including permeate flux and fouling varied with the original membrane characteristics (e.g., roughness and hydrophilicity). Water flux of plasma treated membranes was the highest with 10min and 90W of plasma treatment, and salt rejection was mainly affected by the intensity of the plasma power. Results of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorption demonstrated that the protein adsorption decreased with increasing plasma treatment time. The plasma treatment that resulted in more negatively charged surfaces could also better prevent Aldrich humic acid (AHA) attachment on the membrane surface.

FABRICATION OF TWO-DIMENSIONAL PHOTONIC CRYSTALS WITH GE2SB2TE5 NANOHOLE ARRAYS BY NANOSPHERE LITHOGRAPHY

Two-dimensional photonic crystals (2D-PCs) with Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 ( GST ) nanohole arrays were prepared by the nanosphere lithography (NSL) process. A primary factor of PCs is that the refractive index (n) and the n-modulation can be realized by using the GST films, which exhibit a reversible phase transformation between amorphous and crystalline states by laser illumination. The polystyrene (PS) spheres with a diameter of 500 nm were spin-coated on Si substrate and subsequently reduced by O 2-plasma treatment. The reduced spheres were utilized as a lift-off mask of the NSL process and their size and separation could be precisely controlled. Amorphous GST films were thermally evaporated and then the reduced PS spheres were removed. The fabricated GST nanohole arrays were observed by SEM and AFM. The nanohole diameters are nearly linearly reduced with increasing plasma-treatment time (t). The reduction rate (δ) for the conditions of this work was evaluated to be ~ 0.92 nm/s. The period (Λ) and filling factor (η) of PCs are structure parameters that determine their photonic bandgaps (PBGs). η-modulation can be easily achieved via a control of t and the Λ can be also modulated by the use of PS spheres with specific diameter. In addition, the PBGs for the fabricated GST 2 D PC were calculated by considering the amorphous and crystalline states of GST .

Surface modification of polypropylene macroporous membrane to improve its antifouling characteristics in a submerged membrane-bioreactor: H 2O plasma treatment

To improve the antifouling characteristics of polypropylene hollow fiber macroporous membranes in a submerged membrane-bioreactor for wastewater treatment, the membranes were surface modified by H 2O plasma treatment. Structural and morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The change of surface wettability was monitored by contact angle measurement. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously with the increase of plasma treatment time. The total surface free energy and its dispersive component decreased, while the polar component increased with the increase of treatment time. The relative pure water flux for the modified membranes increased gradually with the increase of plasma treatment time. The tensile strength and the tensile elongation at break for the membranes decreased after plasma treatment. After continuous operation in a submerged membrane-bioreactor for about 68 h, flux recovery after water and caustic cleaning, flux ratio after fouling were improved by 2.0, 3.6 and 22.0%, while reduction of flux was reduced by 1.1% for the 1 min H 2O plasma treated membrane, compared to those of the unmodified membrane.

Surface modification of polypropylene microporous membrane to improve its antifouling characteristics in an SMBR: Air plasma treatment

Polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membranes (PPHFMMs) were surface-modified by air plasma treatment. Morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The change of surface wettability was monitored by contact angle measurements. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously with the increase of plasma treatment time. The relative pure water flux for the modified membranes increased with plasma treatment time up to 2 min, and then it decreased with further increase of plasma treatment time. Decreases in the tensile strength and the rate of tensile elongation at break of the modified membranes were also observed. The antifouling characteristics of the membranes in a submerged membrane-bioreactor (SMBR) for wastewater treatment were investigated. After continuous operation in the SMBR for about 110 h, flux recoveries after water and caustic cleaning are 11.66 and 34.99% higher for the 4 and 2 min air plasma treated membrane than those of the unmodified membrane. Result indicated that reversible fouling was only weakly dependent on membrane surface chemistry; in contrast, irreversible fouling exhibited a marked dependence on surface chemistry.

Surface Modification of Poly(propylene) Microporous Membrane to Improve Its Antifouling Characteristics in an SMBR: O2 Plasma Treatment

AbstractFouling is the major obstacle in membrane processes applied in water and wastewater treatment. To improve the antifouling characteristics of PPHFMMs in an SMBR for wastewater treatment, the PPHFMMs were surface‐modified by O2 low temperature plasma treatment. Structural and morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by XPS and FE‐SEM. The change of surface wettability was monitored by contact angle measurements. Results of XPS clearly indicated that the plasma treatment introduced oxygen containing polar groups on the membrane surface. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously with the increase of plasma treatment time. The relative pure water flux for the modified membranes increased with plasma treatment time up to 1 min, then it decreased with further increase of plasma treatment time. Decreases in the tensile strength and the tensile elongation at break of the modified membranes were also observed. To assess the relation between the plasma treatment and the membrane fouling in an SMBR, filtration for activated sludge was carried out by using synthetic wastewater. After continuous operation in the SMBR for about 75 h, flux recovery were 8.7 and 12.3%, reduction of flux were 91.6 and 87.4% for the nascent and O2 plasma treated PPHFMM for 1 min, relative flux ratio for O2 plasma treated PPHFMM for 1 min was 49.9% higher than that of the nascent PPHFMM.magnified image

A study of atmospheric-pressure CHF 3/Ar plasma treatment on dielectric characteristics of polyimide films

In this work, the influence of atmospheric-pressure CHF 3/Ar plasma treatment on surface dielectric properties of polyimide films was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and contact angle measurements. The dielectric characteristics of the films were studied using a dielectric spectrometer. From the results, it was found that the plasma treatment introduced fluorine functional groups onto the polyimide surfaces. F 1s/C 1s ratios of the polyimides were enhanced with the increase of plasma treatment time. Consequently, the fluorine groups led to a decrease of the surface free energy and dielectric constant of the polyimide films, which can largely be attributed to the decrease of the deformation polarizability or London dispersive component of surface free energy of the solid surface studied.

Surface modification of polypropylene microporous membrane to improve its antifouling characteristics in an SMBR: N 2 plasma treatment

Fouling is the major obstacle in membrane processes applied in water and wastewater treatment. The polypropylene hollow fiber microporous membranes (PPHFMMs) were surface modified by N 2 low-temperature plasma treatment to improve the antifouling characteristics. Morphological changes on the membrane surface were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The change of surface wettability was monitored by contact angle measurements. The static water contact angle of the modified membrane reduced obviously; the relative pure water flux of the modified membranes increased with the increase of plasma treatment time. To assess the relation between plasma treatment and membrane fouling in a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR), filtration of activated sludge was carried out by using synthetic wastewater. After continuous operation in the SMBR for about 90 h, flux recoveries for the N 2 plasma-treated PPHFMM for 8 min were 62.9% and 67.8% higher than those of the virgin membrane after water and NaOH cleaning. The irreversible fouling resistance decreased after plasma treatment.

Atomic force microscopy analysis of cellulose triacetate surface modified in low temperature argon plasma and its adhesion behavior

AbstractThe surface of cellulose triacetate (CTA) film was modified with gaseous plasma of several discharge power in the presence of Argon (Ar) gas at 0.5 torr pressure. After gas plasma etching, the surface structure of the films is analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and measured with peel strength. Furthermore, the wetting properties of the CTA film treated with Ar plasma are studied by contact angle measurement. Peel strength after plasma treatment was increased with increasing plasma treatment time. However, treatments of plasma greater than 7 min did not find an additional increase in peel strength, similarly to roughness and morphological changes of AFM. The water contact angle decreased for an initial treatment time due to the improved wettability of the film, but showed an increasing trend for a higher treatment time (7 min). These results show that Ar plasma treatment is a convenient tool for improving the adhesive properties of CTA film. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 3963–3971, 2006