Selective surface functionalization of polyolefins by plasma treatment followed by chemical reduction

Polymer surfaces can be finished with functional groups upon exposure to a plasma. Species of the plasma gas are attached at surface carbon atoms. forming functional groups of different composition. To produce a modified polymer surface with a high density and homogeneity of hydroxyl groups only, the oxygen-plasma-formed oxygen functional groups were chemically reduced by diborane and LiAlH(4) with yields of 10 to 11 OH groups per 100 carbon atoms in the 3 to 5 nm near-surface layer as detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The identification of hydroxyl groups was performed by means of attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and XPS. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.