Interfacial studies of plasma treated UHMW-PE

In this work, surface modification using atmospheric dielectric-barrier discharges (DBD) plasma treatments were utilized to introduce nitrogen functionalities onto the surfaces of ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) films. The incorporation of polymers within polymer matrices prior to any surface treatment suffer from poor adhesion due to interfacial discontinuities arising from variances in thermodynamic properties. The inclusion of polar groups resulted in a significant increase in the wettability and surface energy of the polymer in addition to potentially enhancing the material's adhesive properties. Studies focused on the effects of various treatment times and gas flow-rates corresponding to the type of treatment obtained. Plasma-treated UHMW-PE films were evaluated using surface analysis techniques: contact angle measurements, Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Wettability studies show a considerable decrease in contact angles and an increase in surface energy, signifying the newly aquired hydrophilic character of the polymer surface. ATR-FTIR and XPS results verify the existence of nitrogen- and oxygen-containing functional groups on the surfaces of plasma treated UHMW-PE.