Joshi Ujjwal Man and Subedi De
Abstract
Thin films of high density polyethylene (HDPE) were treated for improving hydrophilicity using nonthermal plasma generated by line frequency atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (APDBD) in air and argon. HDPE samples before and after the treatments were studied using contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Distilled water (H2O), glycerol (C3H8O3) and diiodomethane (CH2I2) were used as test liquids. The contact angle measurements between test liquids and HDPE samples were used to determine total surface free energy using sessile drop technique. Ageing effect was characterized by means of contact angle measurements versus ageing time. It was found that the treatment of HDPE in argon seems to be more stable and uniform with higher roughness with respect to APDBD treatment time than the treatment of HDPE in air.