Role of substrate outgassing on the formation dynamics of either hydrophilic or hydrophobic wood surfaces in atmospheric-pressure, organosilicon plasmas

This work examines the influence of substrate outgassing on the deposition dynamics of either hydrophilic or hydrophobic coatings on wood surfaces in organosilicon, dielectric barrier discharges. Sugar maple and black spruce wood samples were placed on the bottom electrode and the discharge was sustained in N2–HMDSO (hexamethyldisiloxane) gas mixtures by applying a 24 kV peak-to-peak voltage at 2 kHz. Current–voltage characteristics revealed a transition from a filamentary to a homogeneous discharge with increasing plasma treatment time, t. Based on optical emission spectroscopy, the filamentary behavior was ascribed to the release of air and humidity from the wood substrate following discharge exposure which produced significant quenching of N2 metastables. This effect vanished at longer treatment times due to the nearly complete “pumping” of products from the wood substrate and the progressive deposition of a “barrier” layer. Analysis of the surface wettability through static, water contact angles (WCAs) and of the surface composition through Fourier-Transform-Infra-Red-Spectroscopy and X-ray-Photoelectron-Spectroscopy indicated that for t < 10 min, the wood surface was more hydrophilic due to the formation of a SiOx layer, a typical behavior for HMDSO deposition in presence of oxygen. On the other hand, for t > 10 min, the static WCA increased up to ~ 140° due to the deposition of hydrophobic Si(CH3)3-O-Si(CH3)2, Si(CH3)3, and Si(CH3)2 functional groups.