Influence of nanostructure on electrical and mechanical properties for Cu implanted PET

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been modified by 40 KeV Cu ion using a metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) source to fluence ranging from 1×1016 to 2×1017 ions/cm2. The surface morphology was observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The Cu atom precipitation and nano-structure of Cu implanted PET were observed. It is believed that the structure change improves the electrical properties and wear resistance of PET. The electrical properties of PET have been improved extremely after ion implantation. The surface resistance of implanted PET decreased obviously with an increase of ion dose. When metal ion dose was higher than 1×1017 cm−2, the surface resistivity of PET could be less than 0.1 Ω m. The results show that the conductive behavior of a Cu ion implanted sample is much better than that of non-metal Si- and C-ion implanted one. After Cu implantation, the surface hardness and Youngʹs modulus increase and the cross-section area of cutting groove is narrow and shallow comparing with the unimplanted PET. The modification mechanism of PET was discussed.