Influence of O₂ Plasma on Surface Properties of PC-TiO₂ Nanocomposite Film

Abstract

In this work, polycarbonate-TiO₂ nanocomposite films were prepared with different percentages. The aim was to consider the effect of O₂ LF plasma (50 Hz) on the hydrophilicity, surface energy, and surface morphology of polycarbonate and polycarbonate-TiO₂ nanocomposite. Structure of samples was determined by using X-ray diffraction analysis. In comparison with the reference sample, the samples’ structure did not change after plasma treatment. Surface properties of polycarbonate and polycarbonate-TiO₂ nanocomposite films were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle measurement, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Vickers microhardness tester. XPS analysis showed that the surface of samples became more oxidized due to plasma treatment. The water contact angle significantly decreased from 88° to 15° after plasma treatment. It was observed that the hardness of the nanocomposite films was not modified after plasma treatment.

Keywords::

• Nanocomposite
• O₂ plasma
• Surface properties
• TiO₂ nanoparticles
• XPS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We thank Dr. Ahmad Khorramabadi-Zad (Department of Organic Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran) for critical reading of the article and for providing constructive comments.