Applied Surface Science | 2021
Atmospheric-pressure plasma assisted engineering of polymer surfaces: From high hydrophobicity to superhydrophilicity
Abstract
Abstract To engineer polymer surfaces with long-lasting wettability properties and with high coating stability in aqueous media, we investigated the surface wettability of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films treated by radio frequency (RF) atmospheric-pressure plasma. By combining plasma activation and\xa0hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) based plasma polymerization, stable PET surface properties from highly hydrophobic to superhydrophilic were achieved. The results clearly showed that the wettability of PET surfaces could be tuned from stable high hydrophobicity (>140°) to stable superhydrophilicity (