The present invention relates to a biodegradable substrate having a durable hydrophilic surface prepared from a biodegradable polymeric substrate having a surface, wherein the biodegradable polymeric substrate has been rendered hydrophilic by subjecting the substrate to a corona glow discharge and/or coating the substrate with a hydrophilic polymeric material in an amount of from about 0.01 to about 2.0 percent by weight, based on the dry weight of the substrate. The biodegradable substrate can be used in absorbent personal care product, biomedical devices and food packaging.

An experimental investigation of the surface modification of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) by an Ar and Ar/O₂ plasma created with an atmospheric-pressure radio frequency (r.f.) torch is presented here. The surfaces were analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM), XPS and water contact angle (WCA) to get an insight of the surface morphology and chemistry. An increase of roughness is observed with the Ar/O₂ plasma treatment. The WCA analysis shows that these surfaces are more hydrophobic than pristine PTFE; a contact angle of 135° was measured. When a PTFE surface is treated by Ar plasma, no roughening or significant change of the surface morphology and chemistry of PTFE was observed. The effects of the Ar and O₂ fluxes on the PTFE surface treatment were analyzed, as well as the effect of the power and treatment time. The plasma phase was also analyzed by optical emission spectroscopy, and some correlations with the treatment efficiency of the plasma are made. The chemistry on the surface is finally discussed and the competition between etching and re-deposition chemical reactions on the surface is proposed as a possible explanation of the results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sia.3384

High performance polymer, Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) (service temperature −250°C to +300°C, tensile strength: 120 MPa) is gaining significant interest in aerospace and automotive industries. In this investigation, attention is given to understand adhesion properties of PEEK, when surface of the PEEK is modified by two different plasma processes (i) atmospheric pressure plasma and (ii) low pressure plasma under DC Glow Discharge. The PEEK sheets are fabricated by ultra high temperature resistant epoxy adhesive (DURALCO 4703, service temperature −260°C to +350°C). The surface of the PEEK is modified through atmospheric pressure plasma with 30 and 60 s of exposure and low pressure plasma with 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480 s of exposure. It is observed that polar component of surface energy leading to total surface energy of the polymer increases significantly when exposed to atmospheric pressure plasma. In the case of low pressure plasma, polar component of surface energy leading to total surface energy of the polymer increases with time of exposure up to 120 s and thereafter, it deteriorates with increasing time of exposure. The fractured surface of the adhesively bonded PEEK is examined under SEM. It is observed that unmodified PEEK fails essentially from the adhesive to PEEK interface resulting in low adhesive bond strength. In the case of surface modified PEEK under atmospheric pressure plasma, the failure is entirely from the PEEK and essentially tensile failure at the end of the overlap resulting in significant increase in adhesive bond strength. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010

This paper aims to provide an exhaustive and comprehensive overview on flame treatment as a valuable technique for improving the surface properties of polymers, especially polyolefins. It starts with a brief historical excursus on the origin of flame treatment, and the second section deals with the major fundamentals of flame chemistry, with a special focus on the combustion process and mechanism of surface activation. The most important parameters influencing the extent of the oxidation reaction along with relevant practical notes are discussed in the third section. The concluding section outlines how the most significant features of flame treatment can be profitably used to improve the wettability and adhesion properties of polyolefin surfaces, especially from the perspective of developing novel composite solutions such as polyolefins/bio-based coating pairs intended for many different applications.

In this paper, a dielectric barrier discharge operating in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure has been used to improve the surface hydrophilic property of polypropylene (PP) non-woven fabric. The changes in the hydrophilic property of the modified PP samples are investigated by the contact angle measurements and the variation of water contact angle is obtained as a function of the energy density; micrographs of the PP before and after plasma treatment are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the chemical composition of the PP surface before and after plasma treatment is also analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that the surface hydrophilic property of the PP samples is greatly improved with plasma treatment for a few seconds, as evidenced by the fact that the contact angle of the treated PP samples significantly decreases after plasma treatment. The analysis of SEM shows that the surface roughness of the treated PP samples increases due to bonding and etching in plasma processing. The analyses of FTIR and the C1s peak in the high-resolution XPS indicate that oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing polar functional groups are introduced into PP surface in plasma processing. It can be concluded that the surface hydrophilic property of the modified PP samples has been obviously improved due to the introduction of oxygen-containing and nitrogen-containing polar groups and the increase of the surface roughness on the PP surface.

Atmospheric pressure gas discharge plasmas, especially those operated at energy non-equilibrium and low gas temperatures, have recently become a subject of great interest for a wide variety of technologies including surface treatment and thin-film deposition. A driving force for these developments is the avoidance of expensive equipment required for competing vacuum-based plasma technologies. Although there are many applications where non-equilibrium (cold) plasma at atmospheric and higher pressures represents a substantial advantage, there are also a number of applications where low-pressure plasmas simply cannot be replaced due to specific properties and limitations of the atmospheric plasma and related equipment. In this critical review, the primary principles and characteristics of the cold atmospheric plasma and differences from vacuum-based plasma processes are described and discussed to provide a better understanding of the capabilities and limits of emerging atmospheric plasma technologies.

The effects of varying corona surface treatment on ink drop impact and spreading on a polymer substrate have been investigated. The surface energy of substrates treated with different levels of corona was determined from static contact angle measurement by the Owens and Wendt method. A drop-on-demand print-head was used to eject 38 μm diameter drops of UV-curable graphics ink travelling at 2.7 m/s on to a flat polymer substrate. The kinematic impact phase was imaged with a high speed camera at 500k frames per second, while the spreading phase was imaged at 20k frames per second. The resultant images were analyzed to track the changes in the drop diameter during the different phases of drop spreading. Further experiments were carried out with whitelight interferometry to accurately measure the final diameter of drops which had been printed on different corona treated substrates and UV cured. The results are correlated to characterize the effects of corona treatment on drop impact behavior and final print quality.

In this work, two different techniques to modify polymeric surfaces are compared: laser irradiation and ion implantation. The treated polymers were samples of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene. The irradiation treatment was performed by utilizing two different laser sources operating in the UV and IR range by applying many laser shots in an air atmosphere. Ion implantation was performed using a new laser ion source accelerator with an accelerating voltage of 40 kV. Contact angle, roughness and Fourier transform infra red measurements were carried out before and after the treatments in order to compare surface characteristics. An increase of the wettability and roughness was observed when using UV laser treatment, while an increase of the hardness was obtained by ion implantation.

In the present work three common polyolefins: high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) have been treated with an atmospheric pressure air plasma torch (APPT) in order to improve their wettability properties. The variations in surface energy (γ_s), as well as the durability of the treatment are determined by means of contact angle measurements for different aging times after plasma exposure (up to 270 days) using five test liquids which cover a wide range of polarities. The introduction of new polar moieties (carbonyl, amine or hydroxyl) is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in attenuated total multiple reflection mode (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provides information on the morphological changes and variation on surface roughness, revealing that smoother, lamellar and semispheric micrometric structures are created on the LDPE, HDPE and PP surfaces, respectively. Results show that APPT treatment enhances both the total and polar components of the γ_s under study, with an unprecedent stability (> 8 months) in time.

Measurement of contact angles on super hydrophobic surfaces by conventional methods can produce ambiguous results. Experimental difficulties in constructing tangent lines, gravitational distortion or erroneous assumptions regarding the extent of spreading can lead to underestimation of contact angles. Three models were used to estimate drop shape and perceived contact angles on completely nonwetting super hydrophobic surfaces. One of the models employed the classic numerical solutions from Bashforth and Adams. Additionally, two approximate models were derived as part of this work. All three showed significant distortion of microliter-sized drops and similar trends in perceived contact angles. Liquid drops of several microliters are traditionally used in sessile contact angle measurements. Drops of this size are expected to and indeed undergo significant flattening on super hydrophobic surfaces, even if the wetting interactions are minimal. The distortion is more pronounced if the liquid has a lesser surface tension or greater density. For surfaces that are completely nonwetting, underestimation of contact angles can be tens of degrees. Our modeling efforts suggest that accurate contact angle measurements on super hydrophobic surfaces would require very small sessile drops, on the order of hundreds of picoliters.

The surface of polyimide (PI) films before/after plasma surface treatment using a remote-type modified dielectric barrier discharge was investigated to improve the adhesion between the PI substrate and the metal thin film. Among the plasma treatments of the PI substrate surface using various gas mixtures, the surface treated with the N-2/He/SF6/O-2 plasma showed the lowest contact angle value due to the high C=O bondings formed on the PI surface, while that treated with N-2/He/SF6 showed the highest contact angle value due to the high C-F-x chemical bondings on the PI surface. Specifically, when the O-2 gas flow was varied from 0 to 2.0 slm in the N-2(40 slm)/He(1 slm)/SF6(1.2 slm)/O-2 (x slm) gas composition, the lowest contact angle value of about 9.3 degrees was obtained at an O-2 gas flow of 0.9 slm. And it was due to the high content of oxygen radicals in the plasma, which leads to the formation of the highest C=O bondings on the PI surface. When the interfacial adhesion strength between the Ag film and PI substrate was measured after the treatment with N-2(40 slm)/He(1 slm)/SF6(1.2 slm)/O-2(0.9 slm) followed by the deposition of Ag, a peel strength of 111 gf/mm was observed, which is close to the adhesion strength between a metal and the PI treated by a low pressure plasma.

The invention relates to a method for raising the surface tension of biaxially-stretched films made of thermoplastic polymers. According to the method, a film is first treated on a surface by means of an atmospheric pressure plasma before being stretched transversally or simultaneously across the width thereof, and the film is additional a subjected to a second treatment by means of a corona or flame after being stretched transversally or simultaneously, the second treatment being done on the same surface which has already been plasma-treated.

Surface layer of com. polylactide (PLA) was modified with corona discharges and studied for contact angle (H2O, CH2J2) and the geometric structure (at. force microscopy). The surface free energy was caled, by using Owens-Wendt equation. The treatment resulted in a decrease in the contact angle and an Increase in the surface free energy of the PLA film.

A basic and affordable experimental apparatus is described that measures the static contact angle of a liquid drop in contact with a solid. The image of the drop is made with a simple digital camera by taking a picture that is magnified by an optical lens. The profile of the drop is then processed with ImageJ free software. The ImageJ contact angle plugin detects the edge of the drop and fits its profile to a circle or an ellipse. The tangent to the triple line contact is calculated and drawn by the ImageJ software, thus, returning the value of the contact angle with acute precision on the measurement.

The poly(ethylene terephthalate), PET, film was exposed to atmospheric pressure plasma under various plasma processing parameters. The wettability of the PET film immediately after the exposure and after storage in air, which was determined by the sessile drop method, was strongly dependent on the plasma processing parameters. The contact angle hysteresis on the plasma-exposed PET film was examined by the Wilhelmy method. It was found that the hydrophobic recovery of the PET surface on storage after the plasma exposure was observed only for the advancing contact angle and that the receding angle remained almost the same. These experimental findings were explained on the basis of the calculation by Johnson and Dettre for the advancing and receding contact angles on model heterogeneous surfaces.

Plasma treatment and vacuum Al deposition on films from biaxially oriented polypropylene is a multistep large scale industrial process, mainly ending up in packaging film laminates. As atmospheric plasma treatment processes suffer from lack of reproducibility, low pressure plasma treatment processes that can be operated in-line with the metal deposition are being developed. Process development is difficult, because the final packaging film laminate has to deliver optimum properties of adhesion as well as of the barrier against oxygen and water vapor permeation. As a typical production run involves tens of thousands to up to one hundred thousand square meters of film, experiments on an industrial scale are expensive, so smaller scale experimental processes are needed, which so far do not match well enough with industrial process characteristics. Moreover, bonding mechanisms between the treated substrate film and the deposited Al layer are not sufficiently understood. This paper describes the sequence in development and optimization of substrate films and plasma treatment that has been performed on an experimental as well as on an industrial scale. A sufficient correlation between experimental and industrial scales was achieved, which helps to perform development and optimization on a small scale before scaling up to industrial processes. However, improvement is still needed both in fundamental understanding of the aluminum–polypropylene interface as well as in experimental equipment and methodology.

Interactions of cellulose fiber surfaces with water and other liquids depend on surface morphology as well as intrinsic material properties. Smooth nanocrystalline cellulose (I) films can be used as models to study surface phenomena, where the effects of surface morphology and roughness are minimized. Contact angle measurements are particularly sensitive to surface roughness. In this work, we measured the advancing and receding contact angles for water on thin model cellulose (I) and regenerated cellulose (II) films. The advancing and receding contact angles on model cellulose (I) surfaces were lower than on cellulose (II) surfaces, and the contact angle hysteresis was also lower for the smooth model cellulose (I) surfaces prepared from nanocrystal suspensions. The surface free energy was evaluated for the various cellulose surfaces from contact angle measurements.

In order to characterize a solid surface, the commonly used approach is to measure the advancing and receding contact angles, i.e., the contact angle hysteresis. However, often an estimate of the average wettability of the solid–liquid system is required, which involves both the dry and wetted states of the surface. In this work, we measured advancing and receding contact angles on six polymer surfaces (polystyrene, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(methyl methacrylate), polycarbonate, unplasticized poly(vinyl chloride), and poly(tetrafluoroethylene)) with water, ethylene glycol and formamide using the sessile drop and captive bubble methods. We observed a general disagreement between these two methods in the advancing and receding contact angles values and the average contact angle determined separately by each method, although the contact angle hysteresis range mostly agreed. Surface mobility, swelling or liquid penetration might explain this behaviour. However, we found that the 'cross' averages of the advancing and receding angles coincided. This finding suggests that the cross-averaged angle might be a meaningful contact angle for polymer–liquid systems. Hence, we recommend using both the sessile drop and captive bubble methods.

Measurements of the surface tension (γ_LV) and advancing contact angle () on poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were carried out for aqueous solutions of sodium decyl sulfate (SDS) and p-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl)phenoxypoly(ethylene glycol) (TX100) and their mixtures. The results obtained indicate that the values of the surface tension and contact angles of solutions of surfactants on PTFE and PMMA surfaces depend on the concentration and composition of the surfactant mixtures. Calculations based on the Lucassen-Reynders equation indicate that for single surfactants and their mixtures at a given concentration in the bulk phase the values of surface excess concentration of surfactants at water–air and PTFE–water interfaces are nearly the same, so the adsorption of the surfactants at water–air and PTFE–water interfaces should also be the same. However, the adsorption of TX100 and its mixtures with SDS at water–air interface is higher than that at PMMA–water interface, which is confirmed by the ratio of absolute values of molecular interaction parameters at these interfaces calculated on the basis of Rosen approach. If we take into account the hydration of the poly(ethylene oxide) chains of TX100 and acid and base parameters of the surface tension of water it appears that the PMMA surface is covered by the 'pure' water molecules from the solution or molecules connected with the chain of nonionic surfactant. On the other hand, the lack of SDS molecules at the PMMA–water interface may result from the formations of its micelles which are connected with the TX100 chain.

The surface of medical devices is of great importance for biocompatibility. Surface properties can evolve with a material treatment, time, and storage conditions. In this work, poly(urethane) catheters sterilised by cold nitrogen plasma treatment, were subjected to air and temperature aging in order to evaluate the influence of humidity and temperature on surface recovery. The surface of catheters was analysed by contact angle measurements and XPS. Faster surface changes upon aging were observed at high temperature (45 °C) and relative humidity (90%). For the commercial poly(urethane) catheters analysed in this work, the importance of the nature and polymorphism of additives added to the polymer (lubricant, antioxidant) in the recovery process was demonstrated. Indeed, DSC and TSC showed that additive transitions (relaxation, melting…) could govern the aging process.

The surface of polypropylene (PP) films was activated by RF plasma method with the use different gases: argon, air, water vapor, and acetic acid vapor. Plasma was diagnosed based on spectra emitted by gas plasma using the method of optical emission spectroscopy. The effectiveness of these processing gases during plasma treatment was analyzed. The effects of PP activation were assessed with the use of IR-ATR absorption spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and the analysis of the surface free energy components based on liquid contact angle. The activation of PP surface by plasma treatment resulted in the increased energy of PP surface layer to the extent being dependent on the type of processing gases and in the formation of new chemical groups on it. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/app.34486

The potential of contact angle measurements (CAM) as an analytical tool to characterize surface treatments or modifications is often not fully exploited. Agreeing with Strobel and Lyons, comparing contact angles is often much more reasonable than comparing deduced data like surface energies, because the latter are based on models, in turn involving the influence and knowledge of intermolecular forces at the respective interfaces. For a comprehensive picture, the measurement of contact angles itself has to be considered together with the appropriate model and the available techniques to carry out CAM. An appropriate measurement procedure will be given and a brief discussion of some models to derive free surface energy from CAM.

In this commentary we discuss the assay by M. Strobel and C. S. Lyons on contact angle measurements, critical and popular topic in surface/plasma science community. We agree with stressing the importance of dynamic contact angle measurements (i.e. the evaluation of both advancing and receding). However, we make some remarks about the meaning of angle hysteresis with particular regard to the concepts of roughness and chemical heterogeneity, on the basis of our experience in hydrophobic and super-hydrophobic surfaces. Further, we describe our different point of view in the dispute between Wilhelmy balance and sessile drop methods.

Contact angles are used to solve research and manufacturing problems in an industrial environment. Contact angle measurements are scientific, readily acquired using relatively low-cost instruments and simple procedures, are agreeable for use in environments from academic research laboratories to industrial manufacturing facilities, and are an extremely powerful method for characterizing surfaces. The measurement of dynamic contact angles is rate-dependent at high capillary numbers. Water is a preferred probe liquid for contact angle measurements not only because of the importance of aqueous systems in science and industry, but also because water has the highest surface tension of any commonly available probe liquid and therefore has measurable contact angles on most polymeric materials. Most theories of solid surface energy have a basis in Young's equation, which employs the equilibrium contact angle. If surface energy or surface energy component calculations are made, both the advancing and the receding contact angle data should be used in those calculations.

Semi-crystalline polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is of interest for providing hermetic sealing of implantable medical devices. Self bonding or autohesion is achieved by mild temperature and pressure treatment and is potentially useful to form joints in the encapsulation of active medical implants. The surfaces of PEEK films were treated in a radio-frequency (RF) plasma containing one of the gases Ar, N₂ and O₂, to achieve surface activation. The bond strength developed over the interface of PEEK films was evaluated by lap-shear testing. The effects of plasma conditions on the surface morphology, composition, and properties were determined using the profilometer, contact angle measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results obtained show that plasma treatment of the PEEK films enhances their bonding strength, with the Ar treated films exhibiting the highest bond strength and nitrogen the lowest. Bond strength was shown to correlate positively with total oxygen content, with C–O group concentration and with the polar component of surface energy. Bond strength correlated negatively with CO group concentration.