Surface characterization of an organosilane-grafted moisture-crosslinked polyethylene compound treated by air atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium gliding arc plasma

Navid Mostof Sarkari, Fahimeh Darvish, Mohsen Mohseni, Morteza Ebrahimi, Mohammad reza Khani, Esmaeil Eslami, Babak Shokri, Mahdi Alizadeh, Chang Fu Dee

Applied Surface Science 490 (2019) 436–450

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2019.06.007

Abstract:

In this study, surface modifcation of a silane-crosslinked polyethylene (Si-XLPE) compound was carried out by gliding arc atmospheric plasma. Samples were exposed to the plasma for different durations and the plasma induced alterations of the surfaces were comprehensively assessed. Surface chemistry was evaluated initially via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Surface morphology was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and feld emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). For calculating surface free energy (SFE), contact angle measurement (CAM) was performed. In order to have accurate details on the surface chemistry and morphology, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Grazing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD) analysis were conducted, respectively. Results revealed that this modifcation method doubled the amount of atomic oxygen and nitrogen on the surface, indicating the formation of polar chemical components on the surface. Moreover, plasma could change the surface morphology
considerably by selective etching and impacting on roughness. Furthermore, it was observed that the modifcation improved the surface crystallinity to some extent and also increased SFE drastically. Surface modifcation of Si-XLPE by gliding arc plasma has then proved to be an effective technique during which noticeable improvement in wettability has occurred.