Topography and morphology of the polyamide submitted to plasma ablation

• Grant number: 13/07804-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2013
• End date: May 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Physics of Fluids, Plasma Physics and Electrical Discharge
• Principal Investigator: Elidiane Cipriano Rangel da Cruz
• Grantee: José Zapata Neto
• Host Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental de Sorocaba. Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The creation of patterns on polymeric surfaces constitutes an effective and potential method for controlling their thermodynamical properties. Surfaces highly receptive or inert to water and to other compounds can be designed using this methodology. Recent works propose the construction of such patterns by the selective removal of material of the polymeric surface in oxygen plasmas. The knowledge of the plasma corrosion mechanisms as well as of the effect of this process on the polymer properties is, therefore, essential for the optimization of the delineation process. In this work, commercial polyamide plates will be exposed to the oxygen plasma ablation process. It will be investigated the effect of the plasma excitation parameters, which include the electrical signal power, total gas pressure in the reactor and exposure time on the polyamide surface properties. The topography of the treated surface will be analyzed by profiles acquired by atomic force microscopy. From two dimension images, the average and root mean square roughnesses will be determined. The morphology induced by the plasma on the surface, as well as the dimensions of the created structures will be analyzed by micrographs generated by scanning electron microscopy. All the data collected here will be employed to interpret the wettability results obtained in another research project. (AU)