Controlling the plasma-polymerization process of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone

N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone was plasma-polymerized on glass substrates using a pulsed AC plasma. Pulsed AC plasma produces a chemical surface structure different from that produced by conventional RF plasma; this is ascribed to the different power regimes used. A high degree of control over the structure of the chemical surface was obtained using pulsed AC plasma, as shown by ToF-SIMS. It is demonstrated how the experimental conditions to some extent control the chemical structure of the plasma-polymerized film, e.g., film thickness, density of post-plasma-polymerized oligomeric chains, and the density of intact pyrrolidone rings.