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An air diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge is used to activate the surface of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) samples, which are subsequently coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and tannic acid (TAN) single, bi- and multilayers, respectively, using the dip-coating method. The surfaces are characterized by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Attenuated Total Reflection – Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The XPS measurements show that with plasma treatment the F/C atomic ratio in the PTFE surface decreases, due to the diminution of the concentration of CF2 moieties, and also oxygen incorporation through formation of new C–O, C=O and O=C–O bonds can be observed. In the case of coated samples, the new bonds indicated by XPS show the bonding between the organic layer and the surface, and thus the stability of layers, while the gradual decrease of the concentration of F atoms with the number of deposited layers proves the creation of PVP/TAN bi- and multi-layers. According to the ATR-FTIR spectra, in the case of PVP/TAN multilayer hydrogen bonding develops between the PVP and TAN, which assures the stability of the multilayer. The AFM lateral friction measurements show that the macromolecular layers homogeneously coat the plasma treated PTFE surface.

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The aim of this work was the wettability improvement of clay‐coated paper by ambient air plasma exposure. Industrial corona with a volume dielectric barrier discharge in cylindrical configuration was used as a plasma source; the exposure times varied from 0.25 up to 5 s. Water contact angle (WCA) measurement and surface free energy (SFE) evaluation were carried out for the estimation of wettability changes. Plasma treatment in the duration of 0.25 s was sufficient to decrease the WCA almost to the half of the original value, which was 76°. SFE of paper has increased by 40%–50% after plasma treatment. Long‐term ageing effect study of treated samples was carried out up to 3 months after the treatment. WCA did not reach the original value even after 3 months, and it was still 20%–30% lower. O/C ratio increased from 0.7 to 1.8 in case of 5‐s plasma treatment, and the new chemical bonds (C=O, O–C=O) were created on the surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Surface selective etching of polymer substrates, metal-polymer composites, e.g., transparent conductive substrates by atmospheric plasma roll-to-roll processing. We present a novel method of surface processing of complex polymer-metal composite substrates. Atmospheric-pressure plasma etching in pure H2, N2, H2/N2 and air plasmas was used to fabricate flexible transparent composite poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based polymer film/Ag-coated Cu metal wire mesh substrates with conductive connection sites by the selective removal of the thin (~10–100 nm) surface PMMA layer. To mimic large-area roll-to-roll processing, we used an advanced alumina-based concavely curved electrode generating a thin and high-power density cold plasma layer by the diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge. A short 1 s exposure to pure hydrogen plasma, led to successful highly-selective etching of the surface PMMA film without any destruction of the Ag-coated Cu metal wires embedded in the PMMA polymer. On the other hand, the use of ambient air, pure nitrogen and H2/N2 plasmas resulted in undesired degradation both of the polymer and the metal wires surfaces. Since it was found that the etching efficiency strongly depends on the process parameters, such as treatment time and the distance from the electrode surface, we studied the effect and performance of these parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The review provides an up-to-date overview and discussion of phenomena related to positive streamer breakdowns in short uniform and non-uniform field (corona) gaps. The terminology used to specify different types of streamer phenomena is critically discussed in light of a unified theory of high-pressure gas discharges describing the sequence of ionization events from initial electron avalanches up to a partial or complete breakdown. The emphasis is given to the understanding of the formation of an active cathode spot by the streamer arrival to the cathode, which is the critical but still obscure phase of the breakdown development. Based on the analysis including a computer simulation model a hypothesis is advanced that also such widely studied and practically important gas discharge phenomena as negative corona Trichel pulses and fast ionization instabilities in cathode regions of high-pressure gas discharges are due to the formation of positive streamers in the immediate cathode vicinity. The proposed hypothesis offers attractive feature of the unification of a wide scale of high-pressure gas discharges within the general class of positive streamer initiated breakdown phenomena. Moreover, it provides indications for further study in the field both by experiment and computer simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that analyzed streamer arrival at the cathode and its transformation to the stationary cathode fall in a positive point-to-plane corona discharge. Method of the study; Results and discussion; Conclusion.

Recently, plasma deposition at atmospheric pressure has become a promising technology due to its reduced equipment costs and its possibility of in‐line processing. The main aim of this work was to show a process for the deposition of functional layers on hollow objects surface by plasma discharge generated above the liquid electrolyte. In principle, this process is based on the surface dielectric barrier discharge, where the plasma is generated from the boundary line of liquid precursor and dielectric surface. As a model precursor compound a hexamethyldisiloxane was chosen for deposition on external and internal wall surface of polytetrafluoroethylene tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study concerns a low‐temperature method for dry hydrogen plasma reduction of inkjet‐printed flexible graphene oxide (GO) electrodes, an approach compatible with processes envisaged for the manufacture of flexible electronics. The processing of GO to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was performed in 1–64 s, and sp2/sp2+sp3 carbon concentration increased from approximately 20 % to 90 %. Since the plasma reduction was associated with an etching effect, the optimal reduction time occurred between 8 and 16 s. The surface showed good mechanical stability when deposited on polyethylene terephthalate flexible foils and significantly lower sheet resistance after plasma reduction. This method for dry plasma reduction could be important for large‐area hydrogenation and reduction of GO flexible surfaces, with present and potential applications in a wide variety of emerging technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the effects of plasma treatment on agricultural seeds. Cucumber and pepper seeds, widely used in agriculture, were treated using the Diffuse Coplanar Surface Barrier Discharge (DCSBD) at atmospheric pressure in ambient air. The plasma treatment (4 s for pepper, 20 s for cucumber) led to an improvement of germination and germinating power. XPS confirmed chemical changes on the seed surface. The surface morphology of the plasma treated seeds showed no evidence of structural damage. The conclusion is that DCSBD proves to be able to reduce some of the microorganisms and pathogens affecting the seeds. Thanks to their technical simplicity and easy scaling‐up, DCSBD plasma sources open new opportunities for atmospheric pressure plasma application in the agricultural industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production of medical dressings specific to infected wounds remains one of the great challenges in medicine. In this paper, an integrated application that allows the immobilization of poly( l-lactide) (PLLA) nanoparticles (NPs) containing the antimicrobial agent octenidine on non-woven fabrics (NWs) is investigated. Non-thermal plasma generated by atmospheric pressure diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD) was used for activation, modification, and improvement of the surface properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) NWs. The DCSBD system was integrated into a roll-to-roll production setup that prepared NWs for deposition of NPs using purpose-adapted inkjet printing equipment. The surface properties of the plasma-treated polymers were examined by means of strike-through time (SST) measurements and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The plasma modification of PET and PP NWs improved NP distribution and enabled uniform diffusion over polymer surfaces. The SST measurements indicate improvements in the hydrophilicity and permeability of plasma-treated PET and PP fabrics by reducing strike-through time from 400 s (for untreated polymers) to 6 s. This continuous method of delivering NPs onto plasma-pretreated polymer surfaces has the potential to be adapted to impregnated dressing production, with considerable benefits in terms of cheapness, convenience, speed, and full automation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An atmospheric pressure ambient air plasma technique is developed for technically simple treatment of inner and/or outer surfaces of plastic tubes and other hollow dielectric bodies. It is based on a specific type of surface dielectric barrier discharge generating visually diffuse plasma layers along the treated dielectric surfaces using water-solution electrodes. In the present study, the technique is used for surface activation of PVC tubes. XPS analyses of treated surfaces are performed and the aging effect on the treated PVC surface is studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]