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Response of linear, branched or crosslinked polyethylene structures on the attack of oxygen plasma
(2014)
Linear, branched and crosslinked polyethylenes (PE) were exposed to the low-pressure oxygen plasma for 2–120 s. In the following the samples were washed with solvents to remove low-molecular weight oxidized material and to excavate the subjacent polymer structure for microscopic characterization. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements provided information about changes in elemental composition and chemical structure of PE after plasma exposure and washing. The calculation of the concentration of tertiary C atoms using XPS data was a measure of branches and crosslinking in the polymer before and after exposure to oxygen plasma. Linear PE was most sensitive towards oxygen plasma and showed the highest concentration in tertiary C atoms after plasma exposure. On the other hand branched PE types, which possess originally more tertiary carbon atoms, have lost two-third of them after 2 s oxygen plasma exposure. Branched PE show also topological changes at their surface as detected by atomic force microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements confirmed strong changes in crystallinity and molecular orientation of linear PE already after 120 s exposure to the oxygen plasma interpreted as amorphization. These effects should be interpreted as result of crosslinking caused by the recombination of dangling bond sites.
Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) have been produced in an electric arc discharge by using a graphite rod as anode which is filled with a powder mixture of graphite and metallic catalysts like nickel and yttrium. The soot material containing approximately a third of SWNT was collected from the cathode region as a soft, voluminous material. The main by-products in this process are amorphous carbon and graphitic nanoparticles which have to be removed by an appropriate purification process. The as-produced soot material was purified by gas phase oxidation in air at 355 °C. The oxidation of amorphous carbon in air is advantageous against wet chemical methods because it is better controllable. Thermogravimetric analysis and electron microscopy were used to investigate the oxidation behavior of the different kinds of carbon. Oxidation of SWNT and amorphous carbon occurs simultaneously even at moderate temperatures, whereas amorphous carbon is more rapidly oxidized than SWNT. For optimizing the purification procedure by gas phase oxidation, kinetic studies were used to determine the oxidation time for each component in the soot at a given temperature. So it is possible to remove the amorphous carbon quantitatively with minimal losses of SWNT. But it was found that graphitic nanoparticles have the highest stability against oxidation and could therefore not be quantitatively removed by this method without the complete destruction of SWNT. Therefore, the electric arc discharge process has to be a controlled process for minimum production of graphitic nanoparticles to obtain a material with a high content of SWNT.