P. Groning et al., INTERACTION OF LOW-ENERGY IONS (LESS-THAN-10 EV) WITH POLYMETHYLMETHACRYLATE DURING PLASMA TREATMENT, Applied surface science, 89(1), 1995, pp. 83-91
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Physics, Condensed Matter","Chemistry Physical","Materials Science, Coatings & Films
Using in-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) we investigated t
he chemical modification of the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) surfaces
after plasma and low-energy ion beam treatment. A comparison between
plasma and ion beam treatment has shown, that for noble gases both tre
atments produce absolutely the same modifications of the chemical comp
osition on the PMMA surface. In reactive gases (O-2, N-2) molecular io
ns were found to decompose polar bonds at the polymer surface, but the
y do not contribute to the incorporation of reactive gas atoms. Reacti
ve atomic ions and radicals are responsible for this incorporation. We
found that in the case of PMMA less than three ions are needed to dec
ompose the ester group (O-C=O) completely. Therefore, we conclude that
the decomposition of the ester group by ions is a chemical and not a
physical effect due to the kinetic energy of the ions.