TRIZ technique to produce stable plasma modified surfaces with high density of reactive chemical functionalities

Plasma modification is used to alter surface chemical and physical properties of substrates to improve specific characteristics including adhesion and biocompatibility. Such stable and highly cross-linked coatings produced via high discharge power, however, results in a low concentration of reactive chemical functionalities on the surface. Here, we carried out the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) process consist of functional analysis, cause and effect chain analysis and physical contradiction to arrive at the relevant inventive principles to solve this issue. Then, we selected relevant examples from the literature to demonstrate the application of these proposed inventive steps in solving this issue. This paper is expected to be useful to engineers/scientists who are interested to use the TRIZ technique to generate novel ideas in solving chemical or materials science related engineering problems.