Surface wettability of silicon rubber after irradiation with a glow discharge plasma

Silicon rubber, PDMS, was irradiated by Ar, Ar/H2 and Ar/O2 plasmas to increase the surface wettability to water which was found to increase with the irradiation time for every application of plasma irradiation. The use of Ar/O2 plasma was found to be particularly effective in enhancing the surface wettability. The aging behavior due to exposure to air, ethanol or water was also measured. In the case of continuous exposure to water after plasma treatment, the wettability could be maintained for more than several months with the water immersion.