Study of the combined carbonization of poly(vinylidene fluoride) by X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The surface composition of two samples synthesized by the combined carbonization of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films is studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. One of them is successively exposed only to chemical and radiation impacts, and the treatment of the other includes chemical, heat, and radiation exposure. The chemical preparation of both samples is the same. It is shown that the magnitude and direction of the gradient of the residual fluorine concentration in the surface layer of PVDF carbonization products can be controlled. Since dehydrofluorination decreases the surface electrical resistance of the material, a combination of chemical, heat, and radiation treatments can be used to create a predetermined sequence of heterolayers with different fluorine concentration on a flexible and transparent polymer base and, therefore, with different conductivities.