Surface properties of low-density polyethylene treated by plasma immersion ion implantation for food packaging

In this work, some surface properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) treated by plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) are presented. The effects of PIII of the LDPE samples regarding surface structures, wettability and transparency in visible light were studied. The PIII was applied in a vacuum system at a total pressure of 13.33 Pa. An applied power of 25 W at 13.56 MHz was used for a fixed treatment time of 300 s. Attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) detected the presence of new molecular groups on the treated LDPE surface. Reduced optical transmittance was observed in the visible region of the treated material. Contact angle measurements were useful to identify the hydrophilization of LDPE treated in nitrogen plasmas. The Stop and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) simulation was used to model the distribution of implanted ions on LDPE matrix.