The co-deposition of acrylic acid and hexafluoropropylene oxide in pulsed plasmas
was studied with the purpose to obtain wettable fluorocarbon coatings containing
carboxylic acid groups, which are potentially useful for several employments, e.g.,
as proton-exchange membranes for electrochemical applications.
It was found that the hydrophilic fluorocarbon thin films with the higher
concentration of surface acidic groups can be obtained at lower duty cycle. After
one week of immersion in water at 80°C the trends are inverted, the concentration
of acidic groups and the wettability increase with the duty cycle