Effects of aging on radiofrequency-sputtered polyethylene film

✍ Scribed by Nahoko Kasai; Iwao Sugimoto

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 207 KB
• Volume: 73
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19990906)73:10<1869::aid-app6>3.0.co;2-7

✦ Synopsis

The effects of aging on polyethylene film deposited by radiofrequency sputtering on a quartz crystal microbalance were examined by measuring its resonance frequency and conductance, and by measuring the contact angle of the film to distilled water. The film sputtering was observed using in situ optical emission spectroscopy. The fabricated film was observed using atomic force microscopy, and analyzed using Fourier transform-infrared and electron spin-resonance spectroscopies. The longer the film was exposed to air, its weight increased and the film became softer. Increase in hydrophilicity of the surface, decrease in spin concentration in the film, and enrichment of the oxygenated moieties in the film were observed. These indicate that the film structure is reconstructed by the reactions between radical sites in the film and reactive species in the air, such as oxygen and water, and by the movement of hydrophilic moieties inside the film towards the surface. When stored in vacuum, the film hardened and oxidation slowered.