| AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Applied Surface Science Division | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session AS-WeA |
| Session: | Correlative Analysis - A Multi-technique Approach for Identification and Structure-Property Relationships |
| Presenter: | Paul Mack, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK |
| Authors: | P. Mack, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK R.G. White, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK A.E. Wright, Thermo Fisher Scientific, UK |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
Surface treatment of polymers produces materials that exhibit a wide range of surface compositions, properties and structures. The chemical and structural properties of these novel materials can be exploited for the fabrication of devices for bio-medical and electronics applications. Additionally, the wear-resistant properties of steel can be modified by coating the surface with a diamond-like carbon (DLC) film.
The combination of a variety of complementary surface-sensitive electron spectroscopies maximises the information available to the analyst for full quantitative surface characterisation of polymer surfaces and DLC films. The silicon content of a DLC film can affect its hardness, for example, and XPS is the ideal technique for chemical quantification of the silicon. The concentration of hydrogen in a DLC film also modifies its wear properties, but XPS cannot quantify this element. It is possible, however, to detect and quantify hydrogen using Reflected Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (REELS). When used together, XPS and REELS can provide a total quantification for polymer surfaces and DLC films.
This presentation will show how Thermo Scientific tools can be used to investigate the chemistry and structure of various polymer and DLC samples. Chemical changes produced by surface treatments were examined by high energy resolution XPS and argon profiling (both monomer and gas cluster). Complementary REELS measurements were used to examine the level of carbon unsaturation at the uppermost surface of each sample and to detect and quantify hydrogen.