Low-energy ion scattering (LEIS) study of the ageing of oxygen-plasma-treated high-density polyethylene (HDPE) surfaces

A.H.J. Maas, M.M. Viitanen, H.H. Brongersma

    Research output: Contribution to journalConference articlepeer-review

    21 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Static low-energy ion scattering (LEIS or ISS) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are used to study the surface of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that has been modified by exposing it to a `cold' oxygen plasma. The HDPE surface composition is monitored by both techniques as a function of time after the plasma treatment. With LEIS, large differences in ageing are observed between a sample that is exposed to air after the plasma treatment and a sample that is not exposed to air, but rather kept under vacuum. The hydrophobic recovery of the sample exposed to air is very large, whereas no recovery is observed on the other sample. The XPS measurements also show a decrease in oxygen concentration as a function of time for the sample that was exposed to air, but not as steep as in the LEIS measurements. The differences between the air- and vacuum-exposed samples are explained in terms of differences in composition and cross-linking in the surface region. Static LEIS seems to be a promising method to study the ageing of plasma-treated polymers.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)3-6
    Number of pages4
    JournalSurface and Interface Analysis
    Volume30
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2000
    Event8th European Conference on Applications of Surface and Interface Analisys, ECASIA 99 - Sevilla, Spain
    Duration: 4 Oct 19998 Oct 1999

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