Contact angle hysteresis on plasma treated polyethylene terephthalate

Abstract Knowledge of contact angle hysteresis is important to the understanding of surface wettability and to controlling further surface wetting behaviour. The wettability can be affected by surface modification. This study is a look on surfaces modified by the usage of plasma. We describe the effect of plasma treatments on contact angle hysteresis by the use of Diffuse Coplanar Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DCSBD). Modification of the surface was achieved using textile made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Results have shown that both advancing and receding contact angle were significantly reduced by the process. The contact angle hysteresis was decreased after the plasma treatment as was observed by measurement taken at various time intervals and this fact correspond with introduction of functional groups detected by X - ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).