Influence of moisture and thermal effects on atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of polyvinyl alcohol

Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) films, deposited from solution, with moisture content (MC) of 1.85% and 41.33% were exposed to atmospheric pressure plasma jet. Films supported by two types of thermal conduction materials (plastic sheet and iron plate) were treated and investigated the structural changes. The structure and morphology of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films were determined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV/Visible Spectrophotometers (UV/VIS), Infra red spectroscopy (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Globular texture was observed by SEM for treated film with 41.33%MC placed onto plastic sheet. However, only fragments were found for treated film with 41.33%MC onto iron plate, which occurred as well for plasma treated films with 1.85%MC onto either plastic sheet or iron plate. The formation of C=O analyzed by UV/VIS and FTIR revealed the occurrence of oxidation. The crystallinity calculated from XRD increased especially for treated films with 41.33%MC. Weight loss analysis proved that moisture could enhance plasma etching.