A Study of Crystallization in Plasma Modified Polypropylene

A capacitively coupled radio-frequency plasma discharge is used to improve the surface properties of Polypropylene. The changes in the surfaces are investigated for various plasma discharge parameters. After the plasma modification, the polypropylene material transforms into a para-crystalline form and shows the properties of the monoclinic crystals dominantly, observed using the X-ray diffraction measurements. The results indicate significant improvements in the crystallinity after the plasma exposure. These improvements are verified by the formations measured using a scanning electron microscope. Additionally, formations of new functional groups are observed using a Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection spectrometer. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.