Study of oxygen plasma pre-treatment of polyester fabric for improved polypyrrole adhesion

In this work, we have systematically studied the improvement of binding of polypyrrole with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thin films and fabrics using low pressure oxygen plasma. A range of plasma treatment times were employed to investigate plasma induced effects on surface roughness, surface chemistry and hydrophilicity. Modifications of PET films were studied with respect to surface morphology by means of atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. Chemical effects of plasma treatment were studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results showed that both the increase in surface functionalisation by carboxylic groups and formation of nano size roughness contributed to improved adhesion and conductivity. - Highlights: • Improved adhesion between polypyrrole and polyester due to oxygen plasma treatment. • Formation of additional C–O and O–C=O groups due to plasma reactions. • Plasma induced increase in surface energy and roughness