Open Access On Hydrophilicity Ageing of PP and PET Films Induced by Ultraviolet Radiation and Hydrogen Atoms

Abstract: The hydrophilicity ageing of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films treated by non-thermal plasma usually takes over 150 days. In the present work, the accelerated ageing induced by hydrogen atoms and ultraviolet (UV) radiation with a wavelength of = 253.7 nm was studied. It was experimentally found that the hydrogen atoms restored the modified polymers to their original hydrophobicity very quickly (within several tens of seconds). UV irradiation of the modified PP film leads to degradation of the hydrophilic properties in 7-8 hours. The irradiation of PET film over the first three hours results in the hydrophilicity degradation, but further irradiation improves its hydrophilic properties. The analysis of the processes in the modified layer of PP and PET films during their ageing is performed