Surface modification of polypropylene (PP) using single and dual high radio frequency capacitive coupled argon plasma discharge

Single (40.68 MHz) and dual (40.68/2.1 MHz) high radio frequency (RF) argon plasma discharge was employed as a source of a low-temperature treatment mechanism that was used to modify the surface of polypropylene (PP). The effects of argon plasma on the surface chemistry and the surface morphology of PP were studied using X-ray diffraction analyses. In this study, samples were treated under different plasma operation conditions for parameters such as RF power, gas pressure and treatment time. Furthermore, the crystallite size was calculated (using Scherrer equation) from the diffraction pattern of the β fraction (Full Width at Half maximum) for PP samples. The results reveal that the crystallite size strongly increases with RF power and treatment time, but decreases with gas pressure. From the analysis, it was found that the treated samples have higher crystallite sizes in compared to those of the single RF plasma discharge. This happens because the increase of plasma temperature leads to increases in the crystallization of PP sample, so that the crystallite size also increases. Furthermore, because of the advantageous features of the dual-RF plasma mode, the surface modification of PP sample can occur more quickly than is possible via the single-RF plasma discharge.