Investigating the effect of power/time in the wettability of Ar and O2 gas plasma-treated low-density polyethylene

Low-pressure glow discharges of Ar or O2 gas plasmas were used to increase the wettability of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films in order to improve their adhesion properties hence making them useful in technical applications. Surface free energies of such films were estimated by the aid of contact angle measurements at different exposure power/time combinations for a series of test liquids. Additionally, plasma-treated samples were subjected to several aging processes to determine the durability of different plasma treatments. Characterization of the surface changes due to plasma treatments were carried out by means of attenuated total reflectance, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) to determine the presence of polar species such as hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, etc. groups. Furthermore, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to evaluate changes in surface morphology and roughness. Considering the semi-crystalline nature of the LDPE film, XRD studies were also carried out to determine changes in the percentage of crystalinity. The results showed that all low-pressure Ar or O2 gas plasmas improve the wettability properties of LDPE films. Contact angles decreased significantly depending on the discharge powers and exposure times. Surface morphology was also found to vary with plasma discharge powers, exposure times, and the type of gas being used. Ar gas plasmas comparatively produced superior results.