Crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane exposed to oxygen plasma studied by neutron reflectometry and other surface specific techniques

H. Hillborg, J. F. Ankner, U. W. Gedde, G. D. Smith, H. K. Yasuda, K. Wikström

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

454 Scopus citations

Abstract

Spin-coated specimens of crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) exposed to radio-frequency (RF) and microwave (MW) oxygen plasma were studied by specular neutron reflectometry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Wilhelmy balance, contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Neutron reflectometry and XPS showed that the oxygen plasma led to the formation of a smooth (< 10 nm), oxidised surface layer with a thickness of 130-160 nm. The oxidised layer contained a mixture of the original polymer and silicon bonded to three or four oxygen atoms (SiOx). The oxidised layer was thinner after longer plasma exposure, indicating a decrease in specific volume due to a conversion of the polymer structure to an inorganic SiOx-rich structure. The formation of the SiOx-containing layer with low segmental mobility was further confirmed by the small hysteresis in the Wilhelmy balance measurements. The similarity in the hydrophobicity recovery kinetics of specimens aged in dry air, dry argon and vacuum and XPS data showed that the hydrophobicity recovery is not due to contamination through adsorption from the atmosphere but due to migration of low molar mass PDMS species to the surface. Scanning electron microscopy also showed the presence of surface cracks in heavily oxidised specimens.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)6851-6863
Number of pages13
JournalPolymer
Volume41
Issue number18
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2000
Externally publishedYes

Funding

The Swedish Research Council for Engineering Sciences (TFR; grant 285-95-606), ABB Corporate Research, Västerås and the Franz-Georg and Gull Liljeroths foundation are thanked for sponsorship. The experimental assistance of R. Gaston, M. Lewis, S. Mitchell and M. Miyama at the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA and B. Olander, Department of Polymer Technology, Royal Institute of Technology is gratefully acknowledged.

Keywords

  • Oxygen plasma
  • Polydimethylsiloxane
  • Surface properties

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