Characterization of a non-thermal plasma torch in streamer mode and its effect on polyvinyl chloride and silicone rubber surfaces

• The cold plasma torch used is Inexpensive, efficient and easy to use.
• OES revealed the plasma reactive species resulted in the surfaces activation.
• Plasma treatment improves PVC and SIR wettability and makes them more efficient.

In this study, a non-thermal plasma torch in steamer mode was characterized to apply for surface modification in ambient air. The plasma source is a central rod-ring configuration based on DBD operation. Mixture of Ar/air gases was passed through the hollow Copper rod. A home-built high voltage generator at 18.8 kHz was employed to ignite the plasma. Electrical features of plasma torch were studied and different regions of plasma were examined using optical emission spectroscopy to explore the reactive species that result in efficient treatment. The surfaces of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and silicone rubber (SIR) films were treated by the cold plasma torch. Contact angle measurement shows the improvement of surface hydrophilicity and wettability. Analysis revealed that the surface energy of the films increases indicating their activation after plasma treatment. This process is attributed to increasing the polar component of the surface energy.