Br bonding on plasma brominated graphite surfaces has been studied by using Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (NEXAFS) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Br2 and bromoform were used as plasma gases in an r.f. cw low pressure plasma process. Kr plasma had been used to study separately the physical and chemical plasma etching effects. At early steps of plasma bromination which lead to only small XPS Br surface concentration values a quick decay of aromaticity has been observed. At low Br surface concentration radical or even electrophilic addition of bromine onto sp2 carbon atoms is discussed as the dominating reaction pathway. At higher Br surface concentrations the inherent formation of sp3 defects in the graphene network by chemical etching processes promotes nucleophilic substitution of bromine at sp3 carbons as a competing reaction pathway. Both reaction pathways lead to CBr species characterized by the same Br 3d XPS binding energy. However more than one Br 3d component in XP spectra has been found at lower Br2 plasma induced Br surface concentrations and complexation of bromine at HOPG is assumed as a third way of interaction with Br2 plasma.
The production of chemically-defined plasma polymers and the introduction of monotype functional groups onto polymer surfaces are described. One method is to lower the energetic level of low-pressure plasmas. Pressure- and plasma-pulsed plasmas were successfully tested for the production of chemically-defined plasma polymers by increasing the monomer supply during the plasma-off period. Well-defined ultra-thin polymer films with regular structure were deposited from atmospheric plasmas by electrospray techniques. Post-plasma wet-chemical processing was also applied, as were gas/liquid-based aerosols and underwater plasmas.
In contrast to other plasma modification processes of polymer surfaces, the bromination is very selective and shows a high yield in C—Br groups. The most convenient bromination process was found using bromoform, which was thus preferred to elemental bromine, allyl bromide, vinyl bromide or tert-butylbromide. The bromoform process give yields in C—Br up to 40 C—Br or more, with only 2-3% co-introduction of O-functionalities whereas allyl bromide results in yields of about 20 C—Br and more, but in more than 10% oxygen-containing by-products. C—Br groups serve as anchoring points for grafting of molecules, oligomers and pre-polymers of diole or diamine character.