Influence of humidity on atmospheric pressure air plasma treatment of aluminium surfaces

Atmospheric pressure air plasma treatment of aluminium surfaces and its aging behaviour in different environments were studied. Two types of aluminium samples with different purity and surface morphology were treated using the diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge (DCSBD). Surface free energy (SFE) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) have been utilised to characterise changes induced by the plasma. A significant decrease of hydrocarbon contaminants after the plasma treatment was observed. It is concluded that besides the re-contamination by exposure to ambient air, the aging effect, i.e. decrease of the surface free energy of plasma treated surfaces, can be due by dehydration of aluminium oxide layer. Also, it was observed that the humid air plasma treatment resulted in generation of -NOx surface groups. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.