Modification of polyethylene’s surface properties by high fluence Fe implantation

Abstract In the presented paper, changes of high-density polyethylene’s (HDPE) surface properties along with the changes of chemical composition, as a consequence of Fe ion implantation with different fluences, were investigated. Applied implantation fluences were as follows: 5 × 1016, 1 × 1017, 2 × 1017 and 5 × 1017 ions cm−2, while the implantation energy was 95 keV. The samples were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Four point contact probe, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and contact angle measurements. Significant changes in the chemical composition were found by XPS and FTIR, which were followed by changes in surface morphology, increase of roughness, and decrease of sheet resistance that has a percolation threshold that starts for the fluence of 1 × 1017 ions cm−2. Surface free energy increases as a consequence of implantation, up to the fluence of 1 × 1017 ions cm−2, and then decreases for the 2 higher fluences.