Effect of low energy plasma treatment on surface chemistry and phase composition of electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride membrane

Abstract Present paper shows special benefits of low energy plasma treatment on PVDF electrospun nanofiber membrane, where the plasma power 120W has been applied between two flat electrodes creating homogeneous electric field. This experimental arrangement was crucial for two specific effects: (1) Surface activation took place by the scission of C-H bonds without defluorination (preserving the stronger C-F bonds) and consequently preserving the chains ordering and (2) Homogeneous electric field by low plasma power led to better chains ordering, higher degree of crystallinity and increase in the proportion of electroactive beta phase to almost the entire sample volume. This is a major difference from previous publications using higher plasma energies (240-500W) that report successful surface activation, but accompanied by defluorination, chain breaks and a decrease in the electroactive beta phase fraction.