Soft polyurethanes treated by plasma immersion ion implantation: Structural and mechanical properties of the surface-modified layer

摘要

The surfaces of soft polyurethanes (with elastic moduli of 7 and 50 MPa) treated by plasma immersion ion implantation were studied; the materials became hard and wrinkled. The characteristics of the modified surface (modulus, roughness, wave and fractal parameters, linear deformation) and the cross-sectioned layer were studied in relation to the treatment regime and the modulus of the polymer. A hypothesis that the wrinkling was solely caused by thermal expansion was checked but rejected. The cross-section of the treated material had a hard part of a certain thickness and a transition zone. The elastic modulus of the hard part was estimated by the finite element method. A comparison of the obtained thicknesses with calculations by TRIM software indicated that the latter gave underestimated results. (C) 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.