AVS 58th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition
    Plasma Science and Technology Division Thursday Sessions
       Session PS+SS-ThA

Paper PS+SS-ThA9
H2O Plasma Surface Modification of Track-Etched Polycarbonate Membranes Leading to Polar Surface Functionalization and Improved Wettability

Thursday, November 3, 2011, 4:40 pm, Room 202

Session: Plasma Surface Interactions (Fundamentals & Applications) II
Presenter: Brendan Tompkins, Colorado State University
Authors: B.D. Tompkins, Colorado State University
J.M. Dennison, Colorado State University
E.R. Fisher, Colorado State University
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Plasma surface modifications have the ability to improve performance and realize new applications for polymer membranes in a variety of areas including: microfiltration, gas separation, and water treatment. Past studies in our labs have shown that although some polymer membranes can be successfully modified and are stable after treatment, many partially revert to their untreated state when aged. We are developing a technique that utilizes inductively coupled H2O plasmas to implant polar functional groups onto the surface of track-etched polycarbonate membranes free of wetting agents. Water contact angle results on freshly treated and aged membrane samples show that the treated membranes have improved wettability compared to untreated samples and that the effects persist after treatment. Analysis of freshly treated samples using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows increases in oxygen incorporation, whereas high resolution XPS spectra of the C1s region shows that the fundamental polycarbonate structure is maintained near the surface. Treatment effectiveness under different plasma conditions, aqueous flux used to evaluate the performance of modified membranes, analysis of gas phase plasma species using optical emission spectroscopy (OES) to probe the processes that lead to surface modification, and a comparison with a similar plasma system using a mixture of O2 and NH3 as feedgasses will be discussed along with comparisons to other polymer membrane materials treated under similar conditions.