Modification of unsaturated polyester resins (UP) and reinforced UP resins via plasma treatment

Unsaturated polyester resins (UP) and reinforced composite unsaturated polyester resins (RCP) were made superhydrophobic by plasma assisted methods. Both CF4-plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CF4-PECVD) and alternative method were tested. The surfaces were characterized by water contact angle (CA) measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Water contact angle results indicated that CF4-PECVD can significantly improve the wettability of UP surfaces, but suffer from difficulties for RCP surfaces. Alternatively, O2 plasma followed by self-assembly of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) self-assembled monolayer (SAM) was tested. It was shown that regardless of the filler percentage, O2 plasma followed by self-assembly of OTS monolayer formation all led to superhydrophobic surfaces. The results provided a means to improve the wettability of reinforced UP resins (RCP).