Plasma Treatments
Plasma gas can be used to modify or treat surfaces. “This method first supplies a gas to an atmospheric pressure plasma machine to generate an ionized gas. Then, the ionized gas is bombarded onto the surface of the polymer product to create a surface reaction.”
“This invention utilizes the atmospheric pressure plasma machine to modify the surface properties of the polymer products, therefore, no harm is done to the human body and the environment. Moreover, the atmospheric pressure plasma machine does not need a vacuum system, and the processing cost can be thus reduced. Additionally, the processing method of this invention does not need to go in and out of a vacuum room, so it can be conducted in continuous processing. On the other hand, this invention can elevate the surface properties of the polymer product, which facilitates the subsequent processing steps.”
(Lin et al, US Patent 7,790,050, 9/7/2010)
(Wikipedia, Plasma, 12/4/2010)
Materials
Plasma Treatment of Cellulose Surfaces
Surfaces /Interfaces
Recent US Patents
9/7/2010
7,790,050
Processing method of polymer products
Lin, Kao and Wu of the Industrial Research Institute of Taiwan use an atmospheric pressure plasma to treat plastic surfaces such as PET, Nylon or PAN fibers and prepare them for dyeing or even electroplating. (RDC 11/29/2010)
Recent Journal Articles
12/3/2010
Surface grafting of a thermoplastic polyurethane with methacrylic acid by previous plasma surface activation and by ultraviolet irradiation to reduce cell adhesion
(371-377) Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces 82 #2 (2010)
Alves et al activated the surface of a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) material either by plasma or by ultra-violet (UV) irradiation. After surface activation, methacrylic acid (MAA) was linked to the surface of TPU in order to improve its reactivity and to reduce cell adhesion. UV grafting method led to better results than the plasma activation method, since cell adhesion was reduced when methacrylic acid was grafted to the TPU surface by UV. (RDC 12/6/2010)