Surface Treatment of Polypropylene (PP) Film by 50 Hz Dielectric Barrier Discharge Produced in Air and Argon/air Mixture at Atmospheric Pressure

摘要

Thin films of polypropylene (PP) are treated for improving hydrophilicity using non-thermal plasma generated by 50 Hz line frequency dielectric barrier discharge produced in air and argon/air mixture at atmospheric pressure. PP samples before and after the treatments are studied using contact angle measurements, surface free energy calculations and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Distilled water (H_2O), glycerol (C_3H_8O_3) and diiodomethane (CH_2I_2) are used as test liquids. The contact angle measurements between test liquids and PP samples are used to determine total surface free energy using sessile drop technique. PP films show a remarkable increase in surface free energy after plasma treatment. SEM analysis of the plasma-treated PP films shows that plasma treatment introduces greater roughness on the surface leading to the increased surface free energy. Furthermore, it is found that introducing a small quantity of argon can enhance the surface treatment remarkably.