Deposition of Plasma-Polymerized Polyacrylic Acid Coatings by a Non-Equilibrium Atmospheric Pressure Nanopulsed Plasma Jet

Successful plasma-polymerization of acrylic acid (AA), aimed at depositing plasma-polymerized polyacrylic acid (pPAA) coatings stable upon water contact with a high amount of carboxyl groups, using a non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure nanopulsed plasma jet is reported. Special attention is devoted to the surface chemical characterization of the pPAA coatings deposited on pristine and plasma pretreated polymeric substrates. The investigation of the pPAA chemical structure is performed by means of attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies. Insights on the morphological characteristics of the coatings are also provided by optical microscopy.