Concepedia

Abstract

The polyethylene samples implanted with F+ ions at different implantation energies and to the ion fluences from 1011–1015 cm−2 were studied by means of IR and UV‐visible spectroscopies, by the standard Rutherford backscattering method and the measurement of surface energy. It was found that the fluorine atoms are not bound in the polymer. As a result of the F+ ion implantation, the carbonyl groups and conjugated double bonds are created on the polymer chain. The surface polarity of implanted polyethylene samples increases with increasing ion fluence. The degree of the polyethylene degradation is an increasing function of the implantation energy. By the implantation with F+ ions to the fluence of 1015 cm−2, the polyethylene electrical conductivity was increased by six to seven orders of magnitude compared to that of pristine polymer.