One Step Polymerization of Sulfonated Polystyrene Films in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Abstract

Abstract Thin sulfonated polystyrene films were prepared by high pressure PECVD of styrene and trifluoromethane sulfonic acid using a DBD. Argon or helium was used as carrier gas. The chemical composition of the pp‐sulfonated polystyrene was investigated by XPS, SSIMS, and FTIR. XPS shows that the content in sulfonated groups of the films deposited in the discharge can be tuned by varying the temperature of the acid monomer or by improving the HF voltage. Therefore, the films obtained are rich in ionizable groups (more than Nafion). TOF‐SSIMS and FTIR spectra allow to confirm the presence of sulfonic groups (observed on S2p XPS spectra) grafted in the polystyrene matrix. magnified image