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Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films are widely used in packaging, insulation and many other commodity applications due to their excellent mechanical and chemical properties. However, the water-wetting and water-repellant properties of these films are insufficient for certain applications. In this...

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Autores principales: Aktas, Cihan, Polat, Osman, Beitollahpoor, Mohamadreza, Farzam, Melika, Pesika, Noshir S., Sahiner, Nurettin
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10181085/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37177278
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym15092132
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author Aktas, Cihan
Polat, Osman
Beitollahpoor, Mohamadreza
Farzam, Melika
Pesika, Noshir S.
Sahiner, Nurettin
author_facet Aktas, Cihan
Polat, Osman
Beitollahpoor, Mohamadreza
Farzam, Melika
Pesika, Noshir S.
Sahiner, Nurettin
author_sort Aktas, Cihan
collection PubMed
description Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films are widely used in packaging, insulation and many other commodity applications due to their excellent mechanical and chemical properties. However, the water-wetting and water-repellant properties of these films are insufficient for certain applications. In this study, bare LDPE and textured LDPE (T-LDPE) films were subjected to low-pressure plasmas, such as carbon tetrafluoride (CF(4)) and hydrogen (H(2)), to see the effect of plasma treatment on the wetting properties of LDPE films. In addition, the surface of the LDPE film was textured to improve the hydrophobicity through the lotus effect. The LDPE and T-LDPE films had contact angle (θ) values of 98.6° ± 0.6 and 143.6° ± 1.0, respectively. After CF(4) plasma treatments, the θ values of the surfaces increased for both surfaces, albeit within the standard deviation for the T-LDPE film. On the other hand, the contact angle values after H(2) plasma treatment decreased for both surfaces. The surface energy measurements supported the changes in the contact angle values: exposure to H(2) plasma decreased the contact angle, while exposure to CF(4) plasma increased the contact angle. Kinetic friction force measurements of water drops on LDPE and T-LDPE films showed a decrease in friction after the CF4 plasma treatment, consistent with the contact angle and surface energy measurements. Notably, the kinetic friction force measurements proved to be more sensitive compared to the contact angle measurements in differentiating the wetting properties of the T-LDPE versus 3× CF(4)-plasma-treated LDPE films. Based on Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images of the flat LDPE samples, the 3× CF4 plasma treatment did not significantly change the surface morphology or roughness. However, in the case of the T-LDPE samples, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showed noticeable morphological changes, which were more significant at sharp edges of the surface structures.
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spelling pubmed-101810852023-05-13 Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas Aktas, Cihan Polat, Osman Beitollahpoor, Mohamadreza Farzam, Melika Pesika, Noshir S. Sahiner, Nurettin Polymers (Basel) Article Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films are widely used in packaging, insulation and many other commodity applications due to their excellent mechanical and chemical properties. However, the water-wetting and water-repellant properties of these films are insufficient for certain applications. In this study, bare LDPE and textured LDPE (T-LDPE) films were subjected to low-pressure plasmas, such as carbon tetrafluoride (CF(4)) and hydrogen (H(2)), to see the effect of plasma treatment on the wetting properties of LDPE films. In addition, the surface of the LDPE film was textured to improve the hydrophobicity through the lotus effect. The LDPE and T-LDPE films had contact angle (θ) values of 98.6° ± 0.6 and 143.6° ± 1.0, respectively. After CF(4) plasma treatments, the θ values of the surfaces increased for both surfaces, albeit within the standard deviation for the T-LDPE film. On the other hand, the contact angle values after H(2) plasma treatment decreased for both surfaces. The surface energy measurements supported the changes in the contact angle values: exposure to H(2) plasma decreased the contact angle, while exposure to CF(4) plasma increased the contact angle. Kinetic friction force measurements of water drops on LDPE and T-LDPE films showed a decrease in friction after the CF4 plasma treatment, consistent with the contact angle and surface energy measurements. Notably, the kinetic friction force measurements proved to be more sensitive compared to the contact angle measurements in differentiating the wetting properties of the T-LDPE versus 3× CF(4)-plasma-treated LDPE films. Based on Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images of the flat LDPE samples, the 3× CF4 plasma treatment did not significantly change the surface morphology or roughness. However, in the case of the T-LDPE samples, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images showed noticeable morphological changes, which were more significant at sharp edges of the surface structures. MDPI 2023-04-29 /pmc/articles/PMC10181085/ /pubmed/37177278 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym15092132 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Aktas, Cihan
Polat, Osman
Beitollahpoor, Mohamadreza
Farzam, Melika
Pesika, Noshir S.
Sahiner, Nurettin
Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas
title Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas
title_full Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas
title_fullStr Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas
title_full_unstemmed Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas
title_short Force-Based Characterization of the Wetting Properties of LDPE Surfaces Treated with CF(4) and H(2) Plasmas
title_sort force-based characterization of the wetting properties of ldpe surfaces treated with cf(4) and h(2) plasmas
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10181085/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37177278
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym15092132
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