Chemical and biological effects of low pressure N2-O2 plasma setup on polymeric materials

Abstract

Abstract The effects of low-pressure RF N2-O2 plasma produced using a 13.56 MHz hollow cathode discharge system on the polymeric materials in terms of both biological and chemical sides are studied. A complete inactivation of most of the studied bacteria has occurred within 30 min. However, this treatment caused an increase of the surface hydrophilicity, as manifested by the contact angle measurements. This increase was explained by the formation of the N and O functionalities revealed by the X-ray photoelectron technique analysis. A careful analysis of the high-resolution C 1s peak has also revealed some variations on the C–C, C–O and O=C– bonds and the emergence of a new C-N bond.