Characterization Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Produced In Air At Atmospheric Pressure And Its Application In Surface Modification Of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

Abstract

The low surface energy of HDPE limits its industrial uses as it is not suitable for printing and adhesion. The main aim of this work is to improve the wetting properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) using air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operating at the line frequency (50 Hz). The estimation of electron temperature and electron density has been done by electrical and optical methods. The surface roughness of the control and plasma treated polymer film is analysed by contact angle (CA) measurement, surface energy measurement and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The contact angle was found to be suppressed from 93.180±2.00 to 63.750±0.880 after 10s of plasma treatment which implied that the surface property had changed to a hydrophilic state caused by an increase in the surface roughness.