A preparation of polyethylene coatings by pulse laser-assisted electron beam deposition

Polyethylene (PE) coatings were prepared by a method of pulse laser-assisted electron beam deposition, using low-density polyethylene as evaporated target, silicon wafer and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) sublayer as substrates. The as-deposited PE coatings were characterized by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and atomic force microscope. Significant crystallinity increase and root mean square (RMS) roughness decrease of PE coatings were observed in the presence of PTFE sublayer. Laser-assisted deposition increased the crystallinity and mean particle diameter of PE coatings and remarkably, the obtained PE coatings had a relative uniform particle size. These results suggested that pulse laser and PTFE sublayer might contribute to the synthesis of polymer coatings with suitable crystallinity and uniform surface structure.

► PE coatings are prepared by pulse laser-assisted electron beam deposition technique. ► PTFE sublayer introducing facilitates the formation of well-organized PE coatings with an increased crystallinity. ► Laser-assisted deposition can produce PE coatings with controlled structure and morphology.