- P-ISSN 1225-0163
- E-ISSN 2288-8985
source ion implantation (PSII) technique was utilized to improve the wettability of polystyrene surfaces. It is well known that treated surfaces undergo aging, leading to hydrophobic recovery with time. We investigated the aging effect of polystyrene thin film on the various molecular weights. Polystyrenes with several molecular weights (Mw = 760, 2430, 31600, 115700, 280000, 903600) were treated in different experimental conditions including gas species and pulse energy, and their hydrophilicity was measured by contact angle goniometer. To study wettability decay as a function of the molecular weight, PSII-treated samples were aged at different temperatures. Hydrophobic recovery of high molecular weight polystyrene was much slower than that of low molecular weight, even at high temperatures. The methods used to characterize treated surfaces were water contact angle measurement, TOF-SIMS, XPS, SEM and AFM