Ion Implantation in thermoplastic polymers

Ion irradiation of polymers has become a wide field attracting much interest for the fabrication of novel hybrid materials with excellent physical properties for technological applications [1]-[2]. In this work, we report on implantation of Cr+ and Pd+ ions in inert polymers in order to promote the formation of dispersed metal nanoparticles or continuous thin film below the polymer surface. To this purpose, different thermoplastic polymers, Polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA), Polypropylene (PP), Polycarbonate (PC) and Polyethylene terephthalate glycol modified (PETG), were irradiated at room temperature using high-dose implantation ranging between 10
¹⁵
and 10
¹⁷
cm-2 by using a DANFYSIK 1090 high current ion implanter (200keV). The ion energy used was 60keV and 90keV for Cr+ and Pd+ ions, respectively. The ion implantation process, in particular regarding the implanted depth profile and surface damage, was simulated by TRIM calculations. The morphological and structural modification induced in the produced metal/polymer nanocomposites were investigated by glancing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) observations. Furthermore, electrical resistance of near-surface metal-polymer nanocomposite was measured at room temperature.