Free-Radical-Induced Grafting from Plasma Polymer Surfaces.

With the advances in science and engineering in the second part of the 20th century, emerging plasma-based technologies continuously find increasing applications in the domain of polymer chemistry, among others. Plasma technologies are predominantly used in two different ways: for the treatment of polymer substrates by a reactive or inert gas aiming at a specific surface functionalization or for the synthesis of a plasma polymer with a unique set of properties from an organic or mixed organic-inorganic precursor. Plasma polymer films (PPFs), often deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), currently attract a great deal of attention.

Use of free radicals on the surface of plasma polymer for the initiation of a polymerization reaction.

A novel approach to functionalize plasma polymer films (PPFs) through the grafting polymerization initiated from free radicals trapped in the film was developed in this work. 2-Ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA) was chosen as radically polymerizable monomer given the wide use of its corresponding polymer in coating and adhesive applications. The occurrence of the grafting was first confirmed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Convection-assisted assembly of cellulose nanowhiskers embedded in an acrylic copolymer.

Ultrathin films containing a high fraction of cellulose nanowhiskers embedded in an acrylic-based polymer matrix were successfully prepared by a shear-convective assembly method. Their morphological, chemical and physical properties were examined by AFM Peak Force Tapping, Ellipsometry, contact angle and X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy (XPS). Smooth, stable, robust and hydrophobic ultrathin films were obtained.