Low-frequency glow discharge treatment of poly(ethylene terephthalate) films

The alteration of surface characteristics of the PET-E poly(ethylene terephthalate) film by treatment in the cathode fall of an ac (50 Hz) glow-discharge plasma was studied. The plasma-assisted modification leads to surface hydrophilization which is retained for a long period of time. It was found that the discharge treatment induced a negative charge in the polymer surface layer. The charge density created under different treatment conditions was correlated with the contact angle. The thermally stimulated relaxation and depolarization measurements on the original and the modified film showed that charge buildup in the film during the discharge treatment was due to trapping of injected electrons. From the experimental data, it was inferred that the charge states emerged play the determining role in enhancing the surface energy of modified PET films.