Barrier properties of plasma and chemically fluorinated polypropylene and polyethyleneterephthalate

The functionalization, perfluorination or an coating of polypropylene ( PP) and polyethyleneterephthalate ( PET) surfaces in different plasma atmospheres and in an F-2 + N-2 gas mixture were investigated. The aim of this work was to form a barrier layer against solvent and fuel permeation. Typical test solvents were n-pentane, toluene, tetrachloroethylene and mixtures of n-pentane and methanol. The permeation was gravimetrically measured. The permeation of the solvent mixtures was analyzed by mass spectrometry and Fourier transform IR spectroscopy. The permeation of the solvent mixtures through the plasma-modified polymer samples was associated with increased absorption of polar solvent components in the polymer film. The thickness of the plasma-fluorinated PP surface layer was 10-100 nm and that of chemically fluorinated PP about 5000 nm. Nearly the same barrier efficiency was measured for both plasma- and chemically fluorinated samples.