Vimolvan Pimpan Chulalongkorn University
In this innovation, a self-made Gliding Arc Discharge plasma generator was employed to enhance surface property of two commercial screen protective films: a thermoplastic polyurethane film, and a paper-like textured poly(ethylene terephthalate) film. By varying the plasma-treatment time from 10, 15, to 20 seconds and the distance between the plasma electrodes and the film surface from 1, 1.5, to 2 cm, the effects of these two processing parameters on the film properties were revealed as the variation of water contact angles depended on the treatment condition. After plasma treatment, the water contact angles of all treated films were elevated to around or more than 100° indicating an increase in hydrophobicity which is a key factor to water repellent property. For both commercial films, the same condition of a 20-second treatment time with a 1.5 cm nozzle distance yielded the treated films with highest water contact angles. It was also found that while this process slightly modified the film surface, it barely affected the film transmittance. Due to its advantages including the utilization of an ambient air as a plasma source and its ability in modifying a film surface without using any chemicals in less than one minute, these results suggest the commercialized potential of this self-made Gliding Arc Discharge plasma generator for property enhancement of screen protective films with cost-effectiveness and environmentally friendly process.