Surface characteristics of functional polymer film by ion beam irradiation

Abstract

Polycarbonate (PC) films have been irradiated with various kinds of ions according to energy and dose. Change of the optical transmittance and chemical characteristics were confirmed by UV-VIS and FTIR (ATR) spectroscopy respectively. These UV-A block in 400 nm was variable from 10 to 100% according to energy and doses. Surface electrical resistance of PC film irradiated by ion beam was 106-1013 Ω/cm2, which reveal variation of conduction. Contact angle of film irradiated by ion beam was decreased than the pristine film. Polymer surface morphology was examined by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). As expected, degradation of polymer film was higher after irradiation with heavier Xe ions but the roughness in the polymer surface morphology were more pronounced for Ar ions. This observed effect can be explained by stronger compaction of polymer surface layer in the case of Xe irradiation, connected with a reduction of free volume available.