XPS and FTIR Studies of Polytetrafluoroethylene Thin Films Obtained by Physical Methods
Joanna Piwowarczyk,
Roman Jędrzejewski,
Dariusz Moszyński,
Konrad Kwiatkowski,
Agata Niemczyk,
Jolanta Baranowska
Affiliations
Joanna Piwowarczyk
West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, al. Piastow 19, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland
Roman Jędrzejewski
Łukasiewicz Research Network–PORT Polish Center for Technology Development, ul. Stabłowicka 147, 54-066 Wrocław, Poland
Dariusz Moszyński
West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering, Institute of Inorganic Chemical Technology and Environment Engineering, al. Piastow 42, 71-065 Szczecin, Poland
Konrad Kwiatkowski
West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Department of Mechanics and Fundamentals of Machine Design, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland
Agata Niemczyk
West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, al. Piastow 19, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland
Jolanta Baranowska
West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics, Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, al. Piastow 19, 70-310 Szczecin, Poland
Two methods—attenuated total reflection Fourier infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)—have been used to analyze the chemical structure of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) thin coatings deposited by pulsed laser (PLD) and pulsed electron beam (PED) ablations. The volume of the analyzed materials is significantly different in these techniques which can be of great importance in the characterization of highly heterogeneous thin films. Optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been additionally used to examine the coating surface morphology. The studies have shown that in the case of thin polymer coatings deposited by physical methods, the application for chemical structure evaluation of complementary techniques, with different surface sensitivity, together with the use of surface topography imaging, provide unique insight into the film morphology. The results can provide information contributing to an in-depth understanding of the deposition mechanism of polymer coatings.
