Surface modification of date palm leaves by cold plasma treatment

Abstract

The surface properties of bio-fibres change by surface plasma treatment without changing their internal properties. In this study, radio-frequency plasma was used to treat the surface of date palm leaves. Plasma treatment was conducted for different times (1, 5, and 8 min) and at different powers (80, 100, and 120 W), keeping the gas pressure fixed at 0.95 torr. Water-drop contact angles, scanning electron-microscope images, surface free-energy measurements, and X-ray diffraction spectra were recorded for the surfaces of the leaves after plasma treatment. Contact-angle values were found to decrease and the surface energy in decrease. The observed changes in surface properties are attributable to a combination of the increase in polar chemical functional groups.Electron micrographs show improvement in the sample surface morphology after plasma treatment. The study showed that the surface modification of fibres by plasma could improve interfacial adhesion between the DPF and an epoxy matrix.

Keywords

• RF-plasma treatment
• Date palm leaves (DPL)
• Contact angle measurements
• Surface free-energy measurements