Pulsed and cw microwave plasma excitation for surface functionalization in nitrogen-containing gases

Results are presented of polymer surface functionalization processes in pulsed and continuous wave (cw) microwave-excited plasmas in nitrogen-containing gases under admixture of hydrogen. A maximum selectivity of 100% for amino groups with respect to all nitrogen functional groups (NH2/N) was obtained in cw microwave (MW) plasmas either for very short treatment durations below 100 μs in pure NH3, or within approximately 10 s in hydrogen-rich nitrogen-containing plasmas. The amino and overall nitrogen surface densities, NH2/C and N/C, reach up to 3.5% and 35%, respectively. Post plasma processes of functionalized polymers are discussed in the light of monofunctionalization. Down to pulse duration of 1 ms, plasma decomposition rates of NH3, determined by infrared absorption spectroscopy, are found to scale linearly with the duty cycle. In this regime, the main effect of a duty cycle variation in pulsed NH3 plasmas on surface functionalization can be interpreted to result from changes in the concentration of the dominant stable species in the gas phase, NH3, N2 and H2, which are activated by subsequent plasma pulses. With increasing duty cycle, NH3 decomposition to N2 and 3H2 more and more dominates over the supply of fresh NH3. The nitrogen-removing role of hydrogen in the plasma is discussed in detail, whereas the role of the numerous transient nitrogen-containing species remains to be studied in the future.