Influence of Magnetic Nitrogen Plasma Functionalization of High Density Polycarbonate

Abstract

Low pressure nitrogen plasma has been used to modify surface properties of polycarbonate membrane. Evaluation of surface morphology changes has been carried out using atomic force microscopy (AFM). To study surface topography changes related to etching effect, the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been carried out. The results show a considerable improvement in surface roughness, SEM and AFM analyses show remarkable changes in surface topography as a consequence of the plasma-etching mechanism. The increasing of optical transparency of the plasma treated membranes was observed from UV-visible spectroscopy. The refractive index value for treated films has been decreased as observed from laser ellipsometry measurement. Furthermore, the changes in chemical bonds for polymer films were studied. It is found that plasma treatment can change chemical structure of polymer surfaces partially.