A study on the degradation property of a hydrophilic polycarbonate film treated by inductively coupled plasma using CO2 as reactive gas

In this study, we report investigations on surface modification of polycarbonate (PC) films for hydrophilicity and degradability under acid/base environmental conditions. The aims of our study were to modify a PC surface by the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) using CO2 as precursor gas and to confirm the improved hydrophilic and degradable properties. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and contact angle measurement were carried out to characterize the chemical binding state and to observe the specific chemical change on the surface, respectively. After the plasma treatment and degradability test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was also employed to observe the surface morphologies. The results showed that the CO2–plasma treatment can be a possible method to improve the hydrophilicity and degradability of the PC surface.