Plasma Processes and Polymers

A very wide range wettability gradient is fabricated on poly(propylene) membrane in a diffusion-controlled manner by applying SF₆ plasma under a mask. The formation of gradient is closely related to the fluorine content incorporated by SF₆ plasma and the evolution of chemical composition results in a continuous gradient. The interaction between cell and the gradient demonstrates an effective application of the wettability gradient.

Multilayer architectures, made of alternated organosilicon and silicon oxide layers, were tested for the deposition of corrosion resistant coatings on metal substrates. Such coatings reached the same protective effectiveness of a single silicon oxide layer but with halved thickness. Multilayer deposited through modulated discharge showed a further two-orders-of-magnitude-improvement. FT-IR of the gas phase was correlated to the FT-IR film characterization.