Title:
Microstructural effects on surface mechanical properties of ion-implanted polymers
Microstructural effects on surface mechanical properties of ion-implanted polymers
Author(s)
Rao, G. R.
Wang, Z. L. (Zhong Lin)
Lee, E. H.
Wang, Z. L. (Zhong Lin)
Lee, E. H.
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Abstract
Tefzel, a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and ethylene, was implanted simultaneously
with 400 keV boron, 700 keV nitrogen, and 600 keV carbon to a dose of
3 X 10¹⁵ ions/cm² for each ion. The implanted layer was examined using transmission
electron microscope and compared with the pristine Tefzel for microstructural changes.
The microhardness of the implanted and pristine Tefzel was determined using a
nanoindentation technique. TEM bright-field images of the implanted layer show a
patch-type contrast with distinguishable bright and dark regions. Electron energy loss
spectroscopy (EELS) was used to show that the bright regions had a higher carbon
concentration, as compared with the dark regions. The carbon-rich regions had an
average size of approximately 40 nm. The pristine material showed a fairly featureless
contrast with occasional local patchy regions. These were determined to be due to local
thickness variations. The triple implantation improved the hardness of pristine Tefzel
by over 66 times. The structure of the carbon-rich regions appears to be clusters of sp²
bonded C atoms with sp³ sites present and hydrogen preferentially bonded in the sp³ C
configuration. It was speculated that the carbon-rich regions could be harder than the
surrounding regions, but this could not be resolved due to the small size of the regions.
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Date Issued
1993-04
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Article