Surface composition and surface energy of Teflon treated by metal plasma immersion ion implantation

Plasma immersion ion implantation using a metal vacuum vapor arc (MEVVA) or cathodic arc source was used to modify the fluorine-based polymer, Teflon. Several transition metal ions such as Co, Ni, Cu were introduced into plasma and implanted into the Teflon surface. The chemical composition of the modified surface was determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The metals were found to be distributed several nanometers from the surface and XPS results showed the formation of metallic carbides and fluorides on the surface. Contact angle measurement results demonstrate the favorable change in the wettability from being hydrophobic to hydrophilic. Our study shows that the increase of the surface energy is due to the change of the surface interaction properties after metal plasma implantation.