Remote atmospheric pressure DC glow discharge treatment for adhesion improvement of PDMS

Abstract

In this paper, a remote DC glow discharge at atmospheric pressure is employed for surface modification of PDMS aimed at improvement of its adhesive properties. The effects of the discharge on the surface properties of PDMS are probed using contact angle measurements, XPS and T-peel tests. Results show that the DC glow discharge transforms the initially hydrophobic PDMS surface into a hydrophilic one due to the incorporation of silanol groups at the expense of methyl groups. Moreover, T-peel tests confirm that the remote DC glow plasma is able to remarkably enhance the adhesion between two PDMS layers, but only when both layers are plasma-treated. © 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhelm.