- Synthetic materials are used in a wide variety of fields. Depending on the intended application the plastic material must meet specific requirements. Since the material always interacts with its environment, particular attention is required regarding the surface. Possible damage of the plastic material and further risks could be caused by the adhesion of bacteria, biofilm formation and encrustations. Therefore, bacteria-repellent coatings and surface-modified materials that allow for an effective removal of adhered bacteria are of extremely high interest for many applications. In this study Polyethylene (PE) is chosen as simplest model for relevant plastic materials. Surface modification of PE samples is accomplished by plasma-deposited diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings to achieve increased abrasion strength and bacterial resistance. Two types of nanometer-scaled DLC films with different layer thicknesses are compared by multiscale microscopic analysis. Further spectroscopic measurements with synchrotron radiation are performed.Synthetic materials are used in a wide variety of fields. Depending on the intended application the plastic material must meet specific requirements. Since the material always interacts with its environment, particular attention is required regarding the surface. Possible damage of the plastic material and further risks could be caused by the adhesion of bacteria, biofilm formation and encrustations. Therefore, bacteria-repellent coatings and surface-modified materials that allow for an effective removal of adhered bacteria are of extremely high interest for many applications. In this study Polyethylene (PE) is chosen as simplest model for relevant plastic materials. Surface modification of PE samples is accomplished by plasma-deposited diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings to achieve increased abrasion strength and bacterial resistance. Two types of nanometer-scaled DLC films with different layer thicknesses are compared by multiscale microscopic analysis. Further spectroscopic measurements with synchrotron radiation are performed. These results will provide an enhanced understanding of layer formation at the interface between the basic plastic material and the DLC coating and will possibly lead to optimal parameters for the surface coating to achieve improved product characteristics.…