Surface modification of poly(ethylene) in an rf downstream remote plasma reactor

Polyethylene (PE) was treated in a remote downstream reactor with oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and mixed gas plasma. The effects of these treatments were investigated by contact angle goniometry and x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The oxygen plasma treatment allowed a rapid and efficient hydrophilation of the PE, although the samples were placed far outside the main discharge region. In hydrogen plasma treatment, only a small amount of polar functional groups are formed, while the nitrogen plasma results in a surface similar to that in an oxygen plasma treatment. Thirteen percent of oxygen was found by XPS in these samples, while only 3% of nitrogen was present. The mixed oxygen/hydrogen plasma treatment revealed that 0.1% oxygen in the process gas produced a detectable degree of oxidation. By experiments with quenched atomic oxygen, the singlet molecular oxygen (O½Δ) was found to be the major reactive species in the surface reaction in our system. The role and the source of radiation in this reaction is discussed.