TY - JOUR A1 - Girard-Lauriault, Pierre-Luc A1 - Illgen, René A1 - Ruiz, J.-C. A1 - Wertheimer, M. R. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Surface functionalization of graphite and carbon nanotubes by vacuum-ultraviolet photochemical reactions JF - Applied surface science N2 - Graphite and multiwall carbon nanotube surfaces were functionalized by vacuum-ultraviolet induced photochemistry in NH3 or O2, in order to introduce amino- (NH2) or hydroxyl (OH) functionalities, respectively. Modified surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which showed significant incorporation of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) at the materials’ surface. While high-resolution XP spectra did not yield much specific information about the incorporated functional groups, chemical derivatization with 4-trifluoromethyl benzaldehyde and trifluoroacetic anhydride accompanied by XPS enabled quantification of NH2 and OH groups, respectively. Using near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, we assessed the conservation of the aromatic structure following functionalization treatments. KW - Carbon nanotubes KW - Graphite KW - Vacuum ultraviolet photochemistry KW - Surface functionalization KW - Amino groups KW - Hydroxyl KW - Derivatization PY - 2012 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsusc.2012.03.012 SN - 0169-4332 SN - 1873-5584 VL - 258 IS - 22 SP - 8448 EP - 8454 PB - North-Holland CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-26233 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Girard-Lauriault, Pierre-Luc A1 - Ruiz, J.-C. A1 - Gross, Thomas A1 - Wertheimer, M. R. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Ultra-shallow chemical characterization of organic thin films deposited by plasma and vacuum-ultraviolet, using angle- and excitation energy-resolved XPS JF - Plasma chemistry and plasma processing N2 - Nitrogen (N)-rich organic thin films were deposited using both low-pressure plasma- and vacuum-ultraviolet-based techniques, from mixtures of ammonia (NH3) and ethylene (C2H4). These films were investigated using angle-resolved and excitation energy resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ARXPS and ERXPS, respectively) in order to determine their sub-surface chemical profiles. These two techniques enable one to tune the “XPS 95%” information depth, z 95%, by varying either the angle or the excitation energy. Using a combination of both techniques, z 95% can be varied continuously from 0.7 to 11 nm. The surface-near chemistry is investigated using both high-resolution C 1s spectra and elemental concentrations derived from elemental peak intensities. Results show that while laboratory XPS, and even ARXPS, suggest homogenous surface chemistries, the novel combination of ARXPS and ERXPS points to the existence of a compositional profile in the extreme outer surface layer. Our conclusions are supported by simulations using SESSA software. KW - Plasma polymers KW - Vacuum ultraviolet photopolymers KW - Synchrotron XPS KW - Depth profile PY - 2011 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-011-9306-3 SN - 0272-4324 VL - 31 IS - 4 SP - 535 EP - 550 PB - Plenum Publ. Corp. CY - New York, NY, USA AN - OPUS4-23993 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Truica-Marasescu, F. A1 - Girard-Lauriault, P.-L. A1 - Lippitz, Andreas A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Wertheimer, M. R. T1 - Nitrogen-rich plasma polymers: Comparison of films deposited in atmospheric- and low-pressure plasmas JF - Thin solid films N2 - Low- and atmospheric-pressure plasma co-polymerisations of binary gas mixtures of C2H4 and NH3 or N2, respectively, were investigated for depositing N-rich plasma polymer coatings for biomedical applications. Deposition kinetics and relevant surface characteristics of resulting plasma polymerised ethylene enriched with nitrogen, “PPE:N”, coatings were investigated as a function of the gas mixture ratio, X = NH3(N2)/C2H4. Physico-chemical properties of the coatings were determined using a combination of complementary surface-sensitive techniques: for example, total nitrogen concentrations, [N], up to 40 at.% were measured by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, XPS, while those of primary amines, [–NH2], were determined by performing chemical derivatisation followed by XPS analyses. PPE:N films were further characterised by UV–VIS Ellipsometry, Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Spectroscopy, IR Spectroscopy and by Contact Angle Goniometry measurements. The stability of the coatings was tested, both in terms of water solubility and of “ageing” in ambient atmosphere. For the latter, selected samples were stored in the laboratory for different durations, in order to assess possible changes in their chemical structures. KW - Aging KW - Deposition process KW - Ethylene KW - Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) KW - Glow discharge KW - Plasma polymers KW - Surface chemistry KW - Surface energy PY - 2008 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2008.02.033 SN - 0040-6090 VL - 516 IS - 21 SP - 7406 EP - 7417 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-18279 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Girard-Lauriault, P.-L. A1 - Desjardins, P. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Lippitz, Andreas A1 - Wertheimer, M. R. T1 - Chemical characterisation of nitrogen-rich plasma-polymer films deposited in dielectric barrier discharges at atmospheric pressure JF - Plasma processes and polymers N2 - We have used an atmospheric pressure DBD apparatus to deposit novel families of N-rich plasma polymers (PP:N), using mixtures of three different hydrocarbon precursors in nitrogen at varying respective gas flow ratios. This research focuses on the overall chemical characterisation of those materials, with specific attention to (semi)-quantitative analysis of functional groups. Well-established and some lesser-known analytical techniques have been combined to provide the best possible chemical and structural characterisations of these three families of PP:N thin films, namely XPS, NEXAFS and FT-IR spectroscopy. KW - NEXAFS KW - XPS KW - DBD-plasma KW - Plasma polymerization PY - 2008 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.200800054 SN - 1612-8850 SN - 1612-8869 VL - 5 IS - 7 SP - 631 EP - 644 PB - Wiley-VCH Verl. CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-17820 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Girard-Lauriault, P.-L. A1 - Wertheimer, M. R. A1 - Lippitz, Andreas A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - NEXAFS Surface Chemical Characterisation of Atmospheric Pressure deposited N-rich Plasma-Polymer Films for Tissue Engineering T2 - BESSY highlights - annual report 2006 KW - Synchrotron KW - NEXAFS KW - Plasma-Polymer KW - Tissue Engineering PY - 2007 UR - http://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/media/media/oea/web/pr_webseite/druckschriften/berichte/bessy/annual_report_2006.pdf#page=248 SN - 0179-4159 SP - 248 EP - 250 PB - Berliner Elektronenspeicherring-Gesellschaft für Synchrotronstrahlung CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-17453 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -