Wettability Enhancement of Silver Thin Film with Optimal Plasma Surface Treatment

In this study, the effect of different operational parameters of an argon atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) on surface morphology and chemical ingredients of silver thin film is investigated and optimized to enhance the surface wettability significantly. The thin films were treated by three different methods of argon APPJ treatment to optimize the operating conditions. For this purpose, the surface modification is examined using analyzing techniques namely, water contact angle (WCA) measurements for the wettability, atomic force microscope (AFM) for the morphology of the surface and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) for the chemical ingredients. Experimental results show that the wettability of silver thin film can be enhanced significantly by optimizing the gas flow rate and treatment time of argon APPJ and were optimum at ۱۰ standard litter per minute (SLM) and ۱ minute (min), respectively. Moreover, the APPJ nozzle-silver thin film distance was the most influencing parameter for increasing the hydrophilicity of the silver thin film and was optimum at ۲cm. This work is proposing an environmentally friendly way for significant wettability enhancement of silver thin film which can be applicable for both surface plasmon resonance sensor development and antibacterial activity improvement with argon atmospheric-pressure plasma surface treatment.

Keywords:

Silver thin film , wettability , morphology , atmospheric-pressure plasma jet , surface treatment