Paper SE+MS+TF-TuA9
Plasma Polymerization of Organic Coatings at Atmospheric Pressure: Relationship between the Precursor Chemistry, the Plasma Chemistry and the Final Coating Chemistry

Tuesday, November 8, 2016, 5:00 pm, Room 101C

The synthesis of organic coatings using plasma technologies has been developed since many decades. This paper investigates a full series of organic coatings, synthesized in the same dielectric barrier discharge system, in the same operational conditions. The >10 precursors vary from fully saturated molecules, with or without heteroatoms (hexamethylnonane, CxCly, CxFy), to anhydrides, acrylates, with or without double or triple bonds. It is shown that the presence of double bonds not only significantly increase the polymerization rate, but also protect the ester function in acrylates. A combined effect of the plasma power and the presence of double bonds on the C/O ratio is observed for all the relevant precursors used. Correlation between the plasma chemistry and the fragment pattern in the gas phase, as recorded by atmospheric mass spectrometry, with the final chemical composition of the coatings, determined by XPS and FTIR is established. Coatings properties can be easily tuned either by combining precursors, by varying the plasma power or by changing the main plasma gas. By an appropriate combination of the plasma parameters and the precursor, very high deposition rates can be achieved, highly hydrophobic or hydrophilic coatings can be synthesized. These macroscopic results are interpreted in terms of plasma properties, and chemical reactivity.

This work was supported by the Belgian Federal Government (IAP research project P7/34 – Physical Chemistry of Plasma Surface Interactions).