XPS analysis of thermal and plasma treated polyphenylene vinylene thin films

Summary form only given. It is well known that the thermal or plasma treatments of the polymer films before depositing a metallic layer can appreciably enhance the adhesion property in these films. In this work, we investigated the interface formed on the polyphenylene-vinylene (PPV) thin film by depositng a thin layer of aluminium using XPS technique. Comparison of these results to those obtained in untreated sample shows that: i) thermal treatment does not modify the nature of the interface but probably affects the aluminium layer (grain size) which in turn increases the mechanical property of the interface, ii) plasma treatment (with argon, oxygen and nitrogen) has differimt effects depending on the nature of the plasma gas used. Contrary to argon which has no influence on the interface, oxygen and nitrogen treatments induce both mechanical and chemical modification of the PPV surface favoring the penetration and reaction of aluminium with the polymer.