Plasma Treatment of Aluminum Using a Surface Barrier Discharge Operated in Air and Nitrogen: Parameter Optimization and Related Effects

This paper presents the results of aluminum surface treatment by diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge. The goals are to study the effectiveness of the plasma treatment and the dependence of its efficiency on operation parameters, such as sample-to-electrode distance, treatment time or gas atmosphere. Three types of aluminum materials （bricks, sheets and thin films） were tested to ensure the reliability of the treatment. The changes in the surface properties were characterized by the surface free energy, atomic force microscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （ATR FTIR） and X-ray photoelectron spec- troscopy （XPS）. The influence of aging effect on the treatment was also measured and discussed.

Surface Modification of Electrospun Poly(L-lactide)/Poly(ε-caprolactone)Fibrous Membranes by Plasma Treatment and Gelatin Immobilization

Biopolymer fibers have great potential for technical applications in biomaterials.The surface properties of fibers are of importance in these applications.In this study,electrospun poly(L-lactide)(PLLA)/poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL)membranes were modified by cold plasma treatment and coating gelatin to improve the surface hydrophilic properties.The morphologies of the fibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).Atomic force microscopy(AFM)was employed to show the surface characteristics of the fibers.The chemical feature of the fibrous membrane surfaces was examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The surface wettability of the fibrous membrane was also characterized by water contact angle measurements.All these results show that plasma treatment can have profound effects on the surface properties of fibrous membranes by changing their surface physical and chemical features.Gelatin-PLLA/PCL membrane has great potential in applications of tissue engineering scaffolds.

Effect of Low-Pressure Nitrogen DC Plasma Treatment on the Surface Properties of Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene, Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) and Polyvinyl Chloride Films

In this study, commercial biaxially oriented polypropylene （BOPP）, polyvinyl chlo- ride （PVC） and poly （methyl methacrylate） （PMMA） films were treated with nitrogen plasma over different exposure times in a Pyrex tube surrounded by a DC variable magnetic field. The chemi- cal changes that appeared on the surface of the samples were investigated using Fourier transform infrared （FT4R） spectroscopy and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared （ATR- FTIR） spectroscopy after treatment for 2 min, 4 min and 6 rain in a nitrogen plasma chamber. Effects of the plasma treatment on the surface topographies and contact angles of the untreated and plasma treated films were also analyzed by atomic force microscopy （AFM） and a contact angle measuring system. The results show that the plasma treated films become more hydrophilic with an enhanced wettability due to the formation of some new polar groups on the surface of the treated films. Moreover, at higher exposure times, the total surface energy in all treated films increased while a reduction in contact angle occurred. The behavior of surface roughness in each sample was completely different at higher exposure times.

Polymer Surface Treatment by Atmospheric Pressure Low Temperature Surface Discharge Plasma:Its Characteristics and Comparison with Low Pressure Oxygen Plasma Treatment

The polymer treatment with a low-temperature plasma jet generated on the atmospheric pressure surface discharge （SD） plasma is performed. The change of the surface property over time, in comparison with low pressure oxygen （O2） plasma treatment, is examined. As one compares the treatment by atmospheric pressure plasma to that by the low pressure O2 plasma of PS （polystyrene） the treatment effects were almost in complete agreement. However, when the atmospheric pressure plasma was used for PP（polypropylene）, it produced remarkable hydrophilic effects.

Improving the surface flashover performance of epoxy resin by plasma treatment:a comparison of fluorination and silicon deposition under different modes

This work treats the Al_(2)O_(3)-ER sample surface using dielectric barrier discharge fluorination(DBDF),DBD silicon deposition(DBD-Si),atmospheric-pressure plasma jet fluorination(APPJ-F)and APPJ silicon deposition(APPJ-Si).By comparing the surface morphology,chemical components and electrical parameters,the diverse mechanisms of different plasma modification methods used to improve flashover performance are revealed.The results show that the flashover voltage of the DBDF samples is the largest(increased by 21.2%at most),while the APPJ-F method has the worst promotion effect.The flashover voltage of the APPJ-Si samples decreases sharply when treatment time exceeds 180 s,but the promotion effect outperforms the DBD-Si method during a short modified time.For the mechanism explanation,firstly,plasma fluorination improves the surface roughness and introduces shallow traps by etching the surface and grafting fluorine-containing groups,while plasma silicon deposition reduces the surface roughness and introduces a large number of shallow traps by coating Si Oxfilm.Furthermore,the reaction of the DBD method is more violent,while the homogeneity of the APPJ modification is better.These characteristics influence the effects of fluorination and silicon deposition.Finally,increasing the surface roughness and introducing shallow traps accelerates surface charge dissipation and inhibits flashover,but too many shallow traps greatly increase the dissipated rate and facilitate surface flashover instead.

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Treatment and Following Aging Effect of Chromium Surfaces

The results of atmospheric pressure plasma treatments using diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge (type of surface dielectric barrier discharge) on chromium surfaces are reported. A significant increase of surface wettability was observed after short plasma exposition. A quantitative value of surface wettability, i.e. the surface free energy, changed from 29 mJ/m2 to over 80 mJ/m2. In time, a hydrophobic recovery of the plasma treated surfaces was observed. Careful study by surface free energy measurements and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was performed to be able explaining the effects of plasma treatment. Studied samples were treated in air, oxygen and nitrogen plasma and aged in air and vacuum. Main reasons for increased wettability and aging effect are surface cleaning and transformations in chromium oxide. Additionally, generation of surface nitrate groups was found on the chromium surface as a result of plasma treatment in humid air.

Humid Air Plasma Treatment of Birnessite Surface: Application to the Removal of Cochineal Red

The thin layers of birnessite (Mn7O13?5H2O) are exposed to reactive species gliding arc plasma in humid air, which induces the treatment of the thin layers surface. Plasma treatment thin layer of birnessite was used for the degradation of Cochineal Red. The experimental results showed that 95% of the CR solution was completely decolorized by thin layer of birnessite treated by plasma compared to 80% of the same solution after interaction of thin layer of birnessite untreated. The decay kinetics always follows a pseudo-first order reaction. The application of the humid air plasma for the surface treatment of thin layers of birnessite improves the efficiency of treatment for Cochineal Red degradation.

Effect of Glow-Discharge Air Plasma Treatment on Wettability of Synthetic Polymers

Main aim of this study was focused on characterization of the effect of microwave air plasma treatment on wettability of synthetic polymer surfaces. Wettability of solid polymer surfaces polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene (PE, PP, PS) was followed as a function of plasma treatment time. For evaluation the equilibrium contact angles of wetting as well as dynamic contact angles of wetting were determined by means of sessile drop and Wilhelmy plate methods. Free surface energy (SFE) of studied samples were calculated from the experimentally determined contact angles using Fowkes and van Oss, Chaudhury and Good (vOCG) approaches. It was found that with prolonged treatment time the total surface free energy of PE was two times increased from 23 mJ/m2 to 45 mJ/m2 after 360 s plasma treatment time (calculated for W and EG as wetting liquids). Similar effect was found for all studied polymers. With respect to the dispersive and polar components of the total surface free energy the vigorous effect was found for polar component, for which it was increased from 7 mJ/m2 to 20 mJ/m2.

Effect of Cold Plasma Treatment on the Mechanical Properties of RTM Composites

Cold plasma technology was used to treat the surface of carbon fibers braided by PET in this paper and SEM was used to analyze the fracture microstructure of composite interlaminar shear stress (ILSS). The result shows that the surface polarity of carbon fibers was modified by cold plasma treatment, which increases the impregnation of PET braided carbon fibers during the process of resin flowing, improves the interfacial properties of RTM composites, and therefore enhances the mechanical properties of the KTM composites.

The Solubility of Natural Cellulose After DBD Plasma Treatment

Natural cellulose was treated by an atmospheidc DBD plasma. The solubility of cellulose in a diluted alkaline solution after the plasma treatment was investigated. The properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results indicated that the surface of cellulose treated by the argon DBD plasma was significantly etched, and the relevant force of hydrogen bonding was decreased. This might be the essential reason for the solubility improvement of natural cellulose in the diluted alkaline solution. Through a comparison of two discharge modes, the atmospheric DBD plasma gun and the parallel plate capacitively coupled DBD plasma, it was found that the atmospheric DBD plasma gun was more effective in fragmentizing the cellulose due to its production of a high energy plasma based on its special structure.

The effect of atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma treatment on the dyeing properties of silk fabric

In this study,the effects of plasma treatment parameters on surface morphology,chemical constituent,dycabiliiy and color fastness of silk fabric were investigated.Atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma generated with different applied voltages(0 kV to 45 kV)was used to treat the surface of silk fabrics.C I Natural Yellow 3 was used to dye untreated and plasma-treated silk fabrics.The physical analysis based on scanning electron microscopy showed that the surface of silk fabrics was affected by plasma treatment.The chemical analysis was investigated with x-ray photi>elcctron spectroscopy and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.The results showed that the content of C Is decreased with the increasing applied voltage,the content of N Is and O Is increased with the increasing applied voltage.The increasing K/S values represented that the dyeability of silk fabrics was improved after plasma treatment.The color fastness to dry and wet rubbing was decreased after plasma treatment.

Influence of Chemical Precleaning on the Plasma Treatment Efficiency of Aluminum by RF Plasma Pencil

This paper is aimed to show the influence of initial chemical pretreatment prior to subsequent plasma activation of aluminum surfaces.The results of our study showed that the state of the topmost surface layer（i.e.the surface morphology and chemical groups）of plasma modified aluminum significantly depends on the chemical precleaning.Commonly used chemicals（isopropanol,trichlorethane,solution of Na OH in deionized water）were used as precleaning agents.The plasma treatments were done using a radio frequency driven atmospheric pressure plasma pencil developed at Masaryk University,which operates in Ar,Ar/O_2 gas mixtures.The effectiveness of the plasma treatment was estimated by the wettability measurements,showing high wettability improvement already after 0.3 s treatment.The effects of surface cleaning（hydrocarbon removal）,surface oxidation and activation（generation of OH groups）were estimated using infrared spectroscopy.The changes in the surface morphology were measured using scanning electron microscopy.Optical emission spectroscopy measurements in the near-to-surface region with temperature calculations showed that plasma itself depends on the sample precleaning procedure.

All-organic modification coating prepared with large-scale atmospheric-pressure plasma for mitigating surface charge accumulation

The surface charge accumulation on polymers often leads to surface flashover.Current solutions are mainly based on the introduction of inorganic fillers.The high-cost process and low compatibility remain formidable challenges.Moreover,existing researches on all-organic insulation focus on capturing electrons,contrary to alleviating charge accumulation.Here,an all-organic modification coating was prepared on polystyrene(PS)with the large-scale atmospheric-pressure plasma,which exhibits outperformed function in mitigating surface charge accumulation.The surface charge dissipation rate and surface conductivity are promoted by about 1.37 and 9.45 times,respectively.Simulation and experimental results show that this all-organic modification coating has a smaller electron affinity potential compared with PS.The decrease of electron affinity potential may result in accelerated surface charge decay of PS,which has never been involved in previous works.Moreover,this coating also has good reliability in a repeated surface flashover.This facile and large-scale approach brings up a novel idea for surface charge regulation and the manufacture of advanced dielectric polymers.

The Effect of Plasma Surface Treatment on a Porous Green Ceramic Film with Polymeric Binder Materials

To reduce time and energy during thermal binder removal in the ceramic process, plasma surface treatment was applied before the lamination process.The adhesion strength in the lamination films was enhanced by oxidative plasma treatment of the porous green ceramic film with polymeric binding materials.The oxygen plasma characteristics were investigated through experimental parameters and weight loss analysis.The experimental results revealed the need for parameter analysis,including gas material,process time,flow rate,and discharge power,and supported a mechanism consisting of competing ablation and deposition processes.The weight loss analysis was conducted for cyclic plasma treatment rather than continuous plasma treatment for the purpose of improving the film’s permeability by suppressing deposition of the ablated species.The cyclic plasma treatment improved the permeability compared to the continuous plasma treatment.

Surface Treatment of Polypropylene Powders Using a Plasma Reactor with a Stirrer

A radio frequency argon plasma reactor with a stirrer was employed for the surface treatment of polypropylene （PP） powders. The changes in the superficial contact angle and the superficial composition of the un-treated and treated PP powders were analyzed by means of water contact angle （WCA） measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （ATR-FTIR）. The water contact angle changed from the original value of 130.2° before plasma treatment to the value of 73.6° after treatment for 5 minutes. With the increase in plasma treating time, there were a decrease in the water contact angle and an increase in the content of oxygen containing polar functional groups （i.e., C-O, C=O and O-C=O）. Both XPS and ATR-FTIR results indicated that the plasma treatment led to the formation of oxygen containing polar functional groups due to oxidation on the surface of the PP powders, and the trend of variation of the water contact angle with plasma treating time was related to the concentration of oxygen atom on the treated PP powders surface. Furthermore, the aging of the plasma-treated PP powders was investigated.

Enhanced surface-insulating performance of EP composites by doping plasmafluorinated ZnO nanofiller

The surface flashover of epoxy resin(EP) composites is a pivotal problem in the field of highvoltage insulation.The regulation of the interface between the filler and matrix is an effective means to suppress flashover.In this work,nano ZnO was fluorinated and grafted using lowtemperature plasma technology,and the fluorinated filler was doped into EP to study the DC surface flashover performance of the composite.The results show that plasma fluorination can effectively inhibit the agglomeration by grafting –CFxgroups onto the surface of nano-ZnO particles.The fluorine-containing groups at the interface provide higher charge binding traps and enhance the insulation strength at the interface.At the same time,the interface bond cooperation caused by plasma treatment also promoted the accelerating effect of nano ZnO on charge dissipation.The two effects synergistically improve the surface flashover performance of epoxy composites.When the concentration of fluorinated ZnO filler is 20%,the flashover voltage has the highest increase,which is 31.52% higher than that of pure EP.In addition,fluorinated ZnO can effectively reduce the dielectric constant and dielectric loss of epoxy composites.The interface interaction mechanism was further analyzed using molecular dynamics simulation and density functional theory simulation.

Role of Plasma Surface Treatments on Wetting and Adhesion

There are many current and emerging wetting and adhesion issues which require an additional surface processing to enhance interfacial surface properties. Materials which are non-polar, such as polymers, have low surface energy and therefore typically require surface treatment to promote wetting of inks and coating. One way of increasing surface energy and reactivity is to bombard a polymer surface with atmospheric plasma. When the ionized gas is discharged on the polymer, effects of ablation, crosslinking and activation are produced on its surface. In this paper we will analyse the role of plasma and its use in increasing the surface energy to achieve wettability and improve adhesion of polymeric surfaces.

NH_3 Plasma Surface Treatments of Engineering Fluoropolymers: A Way to Enhance Adhesion of Ni or Cu Thin Films Deposited by Electroless Plating

This paper describes the electroless Ni or Cu plating of some fiuoropolymer substrates through a tin-free activation process. Materials subjected to surface metallization are commercial Teflon() FEP, Nafion(), ACLAR() and LaRCTM-CP1 thin films which have recently gained a large scientific and technological interest due to their excellent thermal, chemical, mechanical and dielectric properties. The original approach implemented in the present work involves: (i)the grafting of nitrogen-containing functionalities on the polymer surfaces through plasma treatments in ammonia, (ii) the direct catalysis of the so-modified surfaces via their immersion in a simple acidic PdCl2 solution (i.e. without using a prior surface sensitization in an acidic SnCl2 solution), and finally (iii) the electroless metallization itself. However, prior to the immersion in the industrial plating baths, the chemical reduction of the Pd+2 species (species covalently tethered on the nitrogen-containing groups) to metallic palladium (PdO) is shown to be a key factor in catalyzing the electroless deposition initiation. This is made by immersion in an hypophosphite (H2PO2-) solution. Wettability measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) experiments are used to characterize every surface modification step of the developed process. A cross-hatch tape test was used to asses the adhesion strength of the electroless films that is shown qualitatively good. In addition, a fragmentation test was developed in combination with electrical measurements. Its use allows to distinguish different adhesion levels at the metal/polymer interface and to evidence the influence of some processing parameters.

A large-scale cold plasma jet: generation mechanism and application effect

Atmospheric pressure cold plasma jets(APCPJs) typically exhibit a slender, conical structure,which imposes limitations on their application for surface modification due to the restricted treatment area. In this paper, we introduce a novel plasma jet morphology known as the large-scale cold plasma jet(LSCPJ), characterized by the presence of both a central conical plasma jet and a peripheral trumpet-like diffuse plasma jet. The experimental investigations have identified the factors influencing the conical and the trumpet-like diffuse plasma jet, and theoretical simulations have shed light on the role of the flow field and the electric field in shaping the formation of the LSCPJ. It is proved that, under conditions of elevated helium concentration, the distributions of impurity gas particles and the electric field jointly determine the plasma jet’s morphology. High-speed ICCD camera images confirm the dynamic behavior of plasma bullets in LSCPJ, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis. Finally, it is demonstrated that when applied to the surface treatment of silicone rubber, LSCPJ can achieve a treatment area over 28 times larger than that of APCPJ under equivalent conditions. This paper uncovers the crucial role of impurity gases and electric fields in shaping plasma jet morphology and opens up the possibility of efficiently diversifying plasma jet generation effects through external electromagnetic fields. These insights hold the promise of reducing the generation cost of plasma jets and expanding their applications across various industrial sectors.

High-Density Polyethylene(HDPE) Surface Treatment Using an RF Capacitive Atmospheric Pressure Cold Ar Plasma Jet

In this study,a high-density polyethylene（HDPE,5-mm-thick,0.95 g/cm3） surface was treated using an RF capacitive atmospheric pressure cold Ar plasma jet.By using this Ar plasma jet,a hydrophilic HDPE surface was formed during the plasma treatment.In particular, the effects of an additive gas（N;or O2） on the HDPE surface treatment were investigated in detail.It was shown that the addition of N2 or O2 gas had an important influence on the HDPE surface treatment.Compared to pure Ar plasma treatment,a lower value of water contact angle （WCA） was obtained when a trace of N2 or O2 gas was added.It was also found that besides the quantities of active species in the plasma jet,the treatment temperature played an important role in the HDPE surface treatment.This is because surface molecular motion is not negligible when the treatment temperature is close to the melting point of the polymer.