Investigation of Plasma-Induced Surface Modification of PMMA Using Nd:YAG Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) plays an important role in many applications, including biomedical, industrial, and optical applications. Due to its surface properties, which are essential to its performance. The PMMA samples were exposed to a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) air plasma with a duration time of 300 s. In this investigation, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) in combination with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to study the surface properties of exposed to plasma samples. The laser pulses were set to (60, 80, and 100) mJ. The resulted spectra were recorded over a wide spectral range from 200 to 1100 nm. LIBS spectra have showed significant changes in the spectral intensity after plasma treatment. FTIR measurement have confirmed the formation of oxygen-containing functional groups and an increase in the surface oxidation. These results are indicating a successful activation of the polymer surface with plasma while maintaining its under surface properties. In addition, the results highlight the effectiveness of LIBS as a rapid analytical technique for evaluating plasma-treated surfaces for processing and recycling purposes, and other various applications.