Preparation of a super hydrophilic polytetrafluoroethylene surface using a gaseous ammonia-water low-temperature plasma

Abstract

The present study developed a new method of modifying the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to increase its wettability, using low-temperature radio frequency (RF) plasma, thus lowering its contact angle and improving associated mechanical properties such as peel strength. We succeeded in generating a super hydrophilic PTFE surface with a contact angle of less than 4° using a low-temperature RF plasma generated from an argon, ammonia and water vapor mixture. During treatment, fluorine elimination was observed and hydrophilic functional groups containing oxygen and nitrogen atoms were found to bond to the PTFE surface. Simultaneously, the surface morphology was dramatically changed to obtain an effective level of roughness.