Surface Modifications of Polymers Induced by Heavy Ions Grafting

Polymer surfaces are modified by the application of swift heavy ions etching and grafting procedures. The residual active sites produced by heavy ion beams, remaining after the etching process, were used to start the grafting process. In order to produce tracks on foils of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) they were irradiated with 208Pb of 25.62 MeV/n or with 115 MeV Cl ions. Moreover, foils of polypropylene (PP) were irradiated with 208Pb of 25.62 MeV/n. Then, they were etched and grafted with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) monomers or with acrylic acid (AAc) monomers, respectively. The replica method allowed the observation of the shape of the grafted tracks using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition NIPAAm grafted foils were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The sulfonation procedure (methodology previously described for perfluorated polymers) was applied on grafted PVDF. A new method is described to produce a thin layer of poly-acrylic-acid (membranes) that grows on the surface of PVDF foils implanted by an Ar+ beam with energies between 30-150 keV. Different combinations of monomers in water solutions were used such as: acrylic acid (AAc); acrylic acid-glycidyl methacrylate (AAc-GMA); acrylic acid-styrene (AAc-S); acrylic acid-N-isopropyl acrylamide (AAc-NIPAAm) and acrylic acid-N-isopropyl acrylamide - glycidyl methacrylate (AAc-NIPAAm-GMA). The experimental results show that for particular values of: ion fluence and energy, AAc concentration, sulphuric acid and PVDF polymorphous (alpha or beta) a huge percentage of grafting was obtained. At certain point of the grafting process the development of the PolyAAc-Xmonomer produce a detachment from the irradiated substrate and continue its grafting outside it. This method produces a membrane that is an increased replica of the original implanted surface. Finally, PVDF films implanted by an Ar+ beam with energies about 100 keV and a fluence of 1013 cm-2 were grafted using different AAc solutions for different purposes: improvement of their biocompatibility, absorption of different ions and immobilization of compounds of biological interest (enzymes, hormones). (author)