Research Progress on Radiation-Induced Surface Modification of PTFE

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a kind of engineering plastics possessing lubricating, insulating and chemically inert properties, which is widely employed in electronics, chemical industry, textile, medicine, mechanical engineering, environmental preservation. Low surface energy, poor adhesion to other materials and high hydrophobicity of the surface of PTFE result from the high bond energy of C—F and fluorine atoms arranging neatly on the surface of C—C chains, which substantially limit its application and should be overcome in order to improve its interfacial affinity to other materials via surface modification. Gamma-ray/electron beam and low temperature plasma radiation-induced surface modification and functionalization of PTFE can efficiently ameliorate its surface adhesion property or compatibility. Compared with high energy radiation method, low temperature plasma irradiation technology is more suitable for the surface modification of PTFE since it does not cause chain scission of bulk PTFE. This review highlights some recent contributions to the surface modification of PTFE via radiation technology.