Modification of Polyvinyltrimethylsilane Films by a 40 kHz Glow Discharge Plasma

The process of surface modification of polyvinyltrimethylsilane films by a low-temperature low-pressure 40 kHz discharge with filtered atmospheric air as the working gas was studied. It was found that plasma treatment of the surface of the samples acquired a stable hydrophilicity property. The chemical structure of the original and modified films was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and the morphology was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was shown that the discharge treatment leads to an increase in surface roughness and the formation of a SiO_x layer on the surface to a lesser extent, however, than after processing by a direct current discharge. The study of the gas transport properties of the modified samples showed that the selectivity for the O₂/N₂ pair is somewhat lower than that of the films treated by a direct current discharge, but at the same time, the gas separation parameters are more stable over time.