Plasma polymerization of styrene with carbon dioxide under glow discharge conditions

Plasma polymerization gains increasing interest for the deposition of films with functional properties suitable for a wide range of modern applications on account of its advantageous features. In this study, carbon dioxide (CO2) was chosen as carrier gas at flow rates of 30 and 60 sccm, respectively and styrene vapor was used as the monomer to prepare polystyrene films on glass substrates. The structure and composition of the plasma polymerized films were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and compared with the film prepared by conventional thermal polymerization. The morphology information of the films was provided by optical microscopy. XPS and FT-IR results reveal that chemical composition of the plasma polymerized films is different from that of the thermal polymerized film and that oxygen content in the plasma polymerized films increases with the flow rate of CO2. Furthermore, the presence of oxygen-containing groups on the surface of plasma polymerized polystyrene films is confirmed. It is also found that the composition and morphology of the plasma polymerized films are controlled by the flow rate of CO2.