Plasma polymerization
Encyclopedia : P : PL : PLA : Plasma polymerization
Plasma polymerization uses plasma sources to generate a gas discharge that provides energy to activate or fragment gaseous or liquid monomer, often containing a vinyl group, in order to initiate polymerization.
Plasma polymerization can be used to deposit polymer thin films. By selecting the monomer type and the energy density per monomer, known as Yasuda parameter, the chemical composition and structure of the resulting thin film can be varied in a wide range.
Polymers obtained from plasma polymerization differ from that of conventional 'wet-chemistry' techniques. Depending on the type of the reactor, deposition conditions (discharge power, monomer flow- rate, deposition time)and substrate position, the resulting surface chemistries formed may differ. This technique is useful in applications such as biomedical whereby controlling and modifying surface become important.
Several advantages of plasma polymerized films include: 1. The ability to surface modify almost any substrates (glass, polymers, metals etc) without affecting the bulk properties 2. A large range of monomers with different functional groups are available 3. Surfaces formed are relatively pinhole-free 4. Good surface uniformity and relatively easy one-step procedure.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.