Surface modification of PE film by DBD plasma in air

In this paper, surface modification of polyethylene (PE) films is studied by dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment in air. The treated samples were examined by water contact angle measurement, calculation of surface free energy, Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The water contact angle changes from the original value of 93.2° to the minimum value of 53.3° and surface free energy increases from 27.3 to 51.89 J/m2 after treatment time of 50 s. Both ATR and XPS show some oxidized species are introduced into the sample surface by the plasma treatment and that the change tendencies of the water contact angle and surface free energy with the treatment time are the same as that of the oxygen concentration on the treated sample surface. Cu films were deposited on the treated and untreated PE surfaces. The peel adhesive strength between the Cu film and the treated sample is 1.5 MPa, whereas the value is only 0.8 MPa between the Cu film and the untreated PE. SEM pictures show that the Cu film deposited on the plasma treated PE surface is smooth and the crystal grain is smaller, contrarily the Cu film on the untreated PE surface is rough and the crystal grain is larger.