QUANTITATIVE ATTENUATED TOTAL REFLECTANCE FOURIER-TRANSFORM INFRARED-ANALYSIS OF MICROWAVE PLASMA REACTED SILICONE ELASTOMER SURFACES

Quantitative analysis of acrylamide and maleic anhydride solid monomers reacted to the surface of PDMS elastomers by a recently developed microwave plasma shows that, for 5-35 s plasma reaction times, the maximum surface concentration for acrylamide is 4-5 pmol/cm2 and for maleic anhydride is 1-2 pmol/cm2. Reactions of the amide and anhydride functionalities to carboxylic acid salt groups are accomplished by base hydrolysis. Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared quantitative analysis reveals a 66% conversion for acrylamide and 48% for maleic anhydride.