Production of amorphous carbon by plasma immersion ion implantation of polymers

The surface of poly ether ether ketone (PEEK) has been treated with plasma immersion ion implantation using hydrogen ions. Nanoindentation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) studies of the modified surface show that the modified layer is harder, denser and has a greater elastic recovery than the unmodified material. The electronic structure of the material is characterized by low-loss EELS and UV-Visible spectroscopy, which show that the surface molecular structure is strongly disrupted by the ion implantation. The changes observed are consistent with the modification creating a carbon-rich amorphous material containing a sp2 rich network structure.