Controlling the surface wettability of poly(sulfone) films by UV-assisted treatment: benefits in relation to plasma treatment

Hydrophilicandsuperhydrophilicsurfacesofpoly(sulfone)(PSU)thinfilmswerepreparedbyUVirradiationinthepresenceofO2 or acrylic acid (AA) vapor. Treated surfaces were then investigated by water contact angle measurements, Fourier transformed IR spectroscopy in attenuated total reflectance mode (FTIR-ATR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) and AFM. Water contact angle values of treated PSU films using either O2 or AA vapor as the reactive atmosphere reached about 6 ◦ after more than 120 min of irradiation. FTIR-ATR, XPS and NEXAFS analysis showed incorporationof oxygenated groups onto the surface that led to its hydrophilic characteristics. In addition,when AA vapor was usedasthereactiveatmosphere,aphotopolymerizationprocessofpoly(acrylicacid)ontothesurfaceofthePSUwasobserved. AFM analysis showed a very low level of roughness after the treatments. A comparison of UV-assisted surface modifications of PSUfilms with traditionalplasma treatmentsshowed excellent qualitative agreementbetween the two techniques. Our results showthatUV-assistedtreatmentsinthepresenceofAAvapororO2 areefficientwaysofcontrollingthesurfacewettabilityand functionalities grafted on the surface of PSU films. This treatment can be considered as a permanent dry grafting method that resists aging and uses a simple experimental setup. c � 2012 Society of Chemical Industry Supporting information may be found in the online version of this article.

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