The internet is full of various sprays that can turn any surface into a hydrophobic one, the application I need is the reverse, I need to turn a surface into a hydrophilic one, but the only thing I found online was for a company that offers to treat the surface inhouse and send it back to you. Do you happen to know a better and easier option to turn a PP plastic surface hydrophilic?
Dear Amal Kassab, various techniques are done, just google search with the keyword 'Polypropylene surface hydrophilization'. The following documents are just examples. My Regards
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2010.06.048
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/214/1/012014
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.memsci.2008.10.011
https://doi.org/10.1002/masy.19981270133
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6836037/
Thanks for your input, this is very useful, but I was actually looking for a readily available quick fix, if such a solution is not possible, then I will have to go back to basics.
oxidation is the key here - generate hydroxyl or carboxyls on the surface.
so either oxidize the PP surface or add another layer of coating - poly vinyl alcohol or poly acrylic acid are simplest.
Hi;
It is possible to obtain a hydrophilic PP by modifying its surface properties. For this purpose, several methods have been developed to selectively modify the polymer surface chemistry. These include grafting of functional groups by chemical methods (e.g. oxidation by strong acids, aminolysis,…), or by physical methods (ozone treatment, flame treatment, UV, laser), ion irradiation, thin film deposition and also plasma treatments.
With my best regards
I think these links may be useful for you
Article Preparation of hydrophilic polypropylene membrane by acid di...
https://patents.google.com/patent/US5837365A/en
Article Surface modification of polypropylene nonwoven fabrics by gr...
Nothing will work better than atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment. A minute-long exposure to air plasma jet increases polarity and hydrophilicity of PP surface enormously. Have a look at the "relyon plasma piezobrush PZ3" device - though it looks like a toy, it works wonders for such stubborn polymers as PP, POM or PEEK.
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Physical Sciences
- Materials Science
- Materials
- Polymers