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Plasma Polymerized Materials

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 18861

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering, Mawson Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson, SA 5095, Australia
Interests: materials science and engineering; nanotechnology; nanomaterials; energy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well documented that surfaces exposed to low pressure glow discharges of organic vapors are coated with a solid polymer film. This phenomenon is now known as ‘plasma polymerization’. First used in 1960 for parts of nuclear batteries, plasma polymerization has been employed for a large number of applications, and significant research was conducted in the synthesis, application, and characterization of plasma polymer films. Plasma polymerization is a substrate-independent process by which polymer films can be deposited onto almost all solid materials including metals, ceramics, polymers and even low-cost natural materials. Plasma polymer films only influence the surface of a substrate without altering the bulk properties. Plasma polymerization is also a solvent-free and environmentally friendly process producing virtually no waste. Plasma polymer films are chemically and physically stable, homogeneous, void free, highly cross-linked, and often highly adherent to the substrate. Such unique properties of plasma polymer films have led to recent exciting developments, such as biocompatible, anti-bacterial, adhesive, super-hydrophobic, anti-fouling, and barrier coatings. In this Special Issue “Plasma Polymerized Materials for Water Treatment” the scope will be on novel plasma ploymerized materials and their fabrication processes for potential use in water treatment.

Prof. Peter Majewski
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Plasma Polymerization
  • Polymer
  • Coatings
  • Substrate
  • Water Treatment
  • Desalination
  • Pathogenes
  • Membranes

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 3728 KiB  
Article
In-Situ Surface Modification of Terpinen-4-ol Plasma Polymers for Increased Antibacterial Activity
by Avishek Kumar, Ahmed Al-Jumaili, Kateryna Bazaka, Peter Mulvey, Jeffrey Warner and Mohan V. Jacob
Materials 2020, 13(3), 586; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13030586 - 27 Jan 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2613
Abstract
Surface modification of thin films is often performed to enhance their properties. In this work, in situ modification of Terpinen-4-ol (T4) plasma polymer is carried out via simultaneous surface functionalization and nanoparticle immobilization. Terpinen-4-ol plasma polymers surface were decorated with a layer of [...] Read more.
Surface modification of thin films is often performed to enhance their properties. In this work, in situ modification of Terpinen-4-ol (T4) plasma polymer is carried out via simultaneous surface functionalization and nanoparticle immobilization. Terpinen-4-ol plasma polymers surface were decorated with a layer of ZnO nanoparticles in an oxygen plasma environment immediately after polymer deposition. A combination of hydrophilic modification and ZnO nanoparticle functionalization of the T4 polymer surface led to an enhancement in antibacterial properties by factor of 3 (from 0.75 to 0.25 CFU.mm−2). In addition, ZnO nanoparticle-modified coatings demonstrated improved UV absorbing characteristics in the region of 300–400 nm by 60% relative to unmodified coatings. The ZnO modified coatings were transparent in the visible region of 400–700 nm. The finding points towards the potential use of ZnO nanoparticle-modified T4 plasma polymers as optically transparent UV absorbing coatings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Polymerized Materials)
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12 pages, 1891 KiB  
Article
Electrically Insulating Plasma Polymer/ZnO Composite Films
by Ahmed Al-Jumaili, Avishek Kumar, Kateryna Bazaka and Mohan V. Jacob
Materials 2019, 12(19), 3099; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12193099 - 23 Sep 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3114
Abstract
In this report, the electrical properties of plasma polymer films functionalized with ZnO nanoparticles were investigated with respect to their potential applications in biomaterials and microelectronics fields. The nanocomposite films were produced using a single-step method that combines simultaneous plasma polymerization of renewable [...] Read more.
In this report, the electrical properties of plasma polymer films functionalized with ZnO nanoparticles were investigated with respect to their potential applications in biomaterials and microelectronics fields. The nanocomposite films were produced using a single-step method that combines simultaneous plasma polymerization of renewable geranium essential oil with thermal decomposition of zinc acetylacetonate Zn(acac)2. The input power used for the deposition of composites were 10 W and 50 W, and the resulting composite structures were abbreviated as Zn/Ge 10 W and Zn/Ge 50 W, respectively. The electrical properties of pristine polymers and Zn/polymer composite films were studied in metal–insulator–metal structures. At a quantity of ZnO of around ~1%, it was found that ZnO had a small influence on the capacitance and dielectric constants of thus-fabricated films. The dielectric constant of films with smaller-sized nanoparticles exhibited the highest value, whereas, with the increase in ZnO particle size, the dielectric constant decreases. The conductivity of the composites was calculated to be in the in the range of 10−14–10−15 Ω−1 m−1, significantly greater than that for the pristine polymer, the latter estimated to be in the range of 10−16–10−17 Ω−1 m−1. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Polymerized Materials)
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11 pages, 1488 KiB  
Article
Exploiting Reactor Geometry to Manipulate the Properties of Plasma Polymerized Acrylic Acid Films
by Karyn Jarvis and Sally McArthur
Materials 2019, 12(16), 2597; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12162597 - 15 Aug 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2611
Abstract
A number of different reactor geometries can be used to deposit plasma polymer films containing specific functional groups and result in films with differing properties. Plasma polymerization was carried out in a low-pressure custom-built stainless steel T-shaped reactor using a radio frequency generator. [...] Read more.
A number of different reactor geometries can be used to deposit plasma polymer films containing specific functional groups and result in films with differing properties. Plasma polymerization was carried out in a low-pressure custom-built stainless steel T-shaped reactor using a radio frequency generator. The internal aluminium disk electrode was positioned in two different geometries: parallel and perpendicular to the samples at varying distances to demonstrate the effect of varying the electrode position and distance from the electrode on the properties of plasma polymerized acrylic acid (ppAAc) films. The surface chemistry and film thickness before and after aqueous immersion were analysed via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry, respectively. For a perpendicular electrode, the ppAAc film thicknesses and aqueous stability decreased while the COOH/R group concentrations increased as the distance from the electrode increased due to decreased fragmentation. For films deposited at similar distances from the electrode, those deposited with the parallel electrode were thicker, had lower COOH/R group concentrations and greater aqueous stability. These results demonstrate the necessity of having a well characterized plasma reactor to enable the deposition of films with specific properties and how reactor geometry can be exploited to tailor film properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Polymerized Materials)
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12 pages, 9143 KiB  
Article
Optical Properties of Oxidized Plasma-Polymerized Organosilicones and Their Correlation with Mechanical and Chemical Parameters
by Bozena Cechalova, Martin Branecky, Petr Klapetek and Vladimir Cech
Materials 2019, 12(3), 539; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12030539 - 12 Feb 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3294
Abstract
Pure tetravinylsilane and its oxygen mixture were used to deposit oxidized plasma polymer films at various effective power (0.1–10 W) and various oxygen fractions (0–0.71) using RF pulsed plasma. The optical properties (refractive index, extinction coefficient, band gap) of the deposited films were [...] Read more.
Pure tetravinylsilane and its oxygen mixture were used to deposit oxidized plasma polymer films at various effective power (0.1–10 W) and various oxygen fractions (0–0.71) using RF pulsed plasma. The optical properties (refractive index, extinction coefficient, band gap) of the deposited films were investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry (230–830 nm) using an optical model and Tauc‒Lorentz parametrization. Analyses of chemical and mechanical properties of films allowed for the interpretation of changes in optical properties with deposition conditions. The refractive index was revealed to increase with enhanced effective power due to the increased crosslinking of the plasma polymer network but decreased when increasing the oxygen fraction due to the decrease of polymer crosslinking as the number of carbon bonds in the plasma polymer network was eliminated. A very strong positive correlation was found between the Young’s modulus and the refractive index for oxidized plasma polymer films. The optical properties of films correlated with their chemical properties for the specific deposition conditions used in this study. The band gap (1.9–2.9 eV) was assumed to be widened due to the increased concentration of vinyl groups in oxidized plasma polymer films. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Polymerized Materials)
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Review

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18 pages, 4000 KiB  
Review
Perspective on Plasma Polymers for Applied Biomaterials Nanoengineering and the Recent Rise of Oxazolines
by Melanie Macgregor and Krasimir Vasilev
Materials 2019, 12(1), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12010191 - 8 Jan 2019
Cited by 57 | Viewed by 6721
Abstract
Plasma polymers are unconventional organic thin films which only partially share the properties traditionally attributed to polymeric materials. For instance, they do not consist of repeating monomer units but rather present a highly crosslinked structure resembling the chemistry of the precursor used for [...] Read more.
Plasma polymers are unconventional organic thin films which only partially share the properties traditionally attributed to polymeric materials. For instance, they do not consist of repeating monomer units but rather present a highly crosslinked structure resembling the chemistry of the precursor used for deposition. Due to the complex nature of the deposition process, plasma polymers have historically been produced with little control over the chemistry of the plasma phase which is still poorly understood. Yet, plasma polymer research is thriving, in par with the commercialisation of innumerable products using this technology, in fields ranging from biomedical to green energy industries. Here, we briefly summarise the principles at the basis of plasma deposition and highlight recent progress made in understanding the unique chemistry and reactivity of these films. We then demonstrate how carefully designed plasma polymer films can serve the purpose of fundamental research and biomedical applications. We finish the review with a focus on a relatively new class of plasma polymers which are derived from oxazoline-based precursors. This type of coating has attracted significant attention recently due to its unique properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plasma Polymerized Materials)
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