Oxygen plasma surface interaction in treatments of polyolefines

In this work, etch rates of hexatriacontane, used as a model polyolefins, as high as ∼10 mg s − 1 m − 2 in late O2 post-discharge are obtained at 333 K where no significant UV nor VUV irradiation occurs. Introducing N2 in the gas mixture helps us to control the ratio of O / O2 densities, which is shown here to play a key role in the functionalization or etching of the HTC. The oxygen atoms are required for any further modification of the HTC because they initiate the formation of the radical chains by abstraction of one hydrogen. However, O(3P) atoms do not contribute directly to break the polymer chain close to room temperature but they can functionalize it. It is O2 in all states that is the important reactive species for the etching because of the role played by the peroxide species on the scission of the carbonaceous chains. The etching step is related to the O / O2 ratio.