Surface modification of polytetrafluoroethylene by synchrotron radiation

Abstract Surface modification of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films by the irradiation using synchrotron radiation (SR) below the melting temperature was studied. The changes in chemical structures, surface compositions and thermal properties of the SR-irradiated PTFE were examined by solid-state 19 F NMR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. In order to investigate the degree of modification as a function of depth from the irradiated surface, some PTFE thin films were stacked in layers under vacuum and then they were irradiated with SR. It was found that crosslinking reaction was induced by SR-irradiation in the solid-state within 50 μm from the exposed surface and chain scission was dominant at deeper layers.