Wettability, optical properties and molecular structure of plasma polymerized diethylene glycol dimethyl ether

Abstract

Modern industry has frequently employed ethylene glycol ethers as monomers in plasma polymerization process to produce different types of coatings. In this work we used a stainless steel plasma reactor to grow thin polymeric films from low pressure RF excited plasma of diethylene glycol dimethyl ether. Plasmas were generated at 5W RF power in the range of 16 Pa to 60 Pa. The molecular structure of plasma polymerized films and their optical properties were analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy, respectively. The IR spectra show C-H stretching at 3000-2900 cm-1, C=O stretching at 1730-1650 cm-1, C-H bending at 1440-1380 cm-1, C-O and C-O-C stretching at 1200-1000 cm -1. The refraction index was around 1.5 and the optical gap calculated from absorption coefficient presented value near 3.8 eV. Water contact angle of the films ranged from 40° to 35° with corresponding surface energy from 66 to 73×10-7 J. Because of its favorable optical and hydrophilic characteristics these films can be used in ophthalmic industries as glass lenses coatings. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.