Wüest M. 51 Wykes M. 82 Yamaguchi M. 17 Ybarra G. 129 Yubero F ...

JUNE 28 WEDNESDAY MORNING
RIVA-SS-WeM-OR.6 SURFACE ANALYSIS OF NBR ELASTOMERS MODIFIED
WITH DIFFERENT PLASMA TREATMENTS. L. Martínez, L. Álvarez, Y. Huttel, J. Méndez,
E. Román. Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) Cantoblanco, 28049-Madrid,
Spain. A. Vanhulsel, B. Verheyde, R. Jacobs, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO).
Boeretang 200, 2400-MOL, Belgium.
In this work, three rubber–like materials with applications applied in the automotive industry were
studied: two Nitrile Butyl Rubber (NBR 7201 and NBR 9003) and one Hydrogenated Nitrile Butyl
Rubber (HNBR 8001). Different atmospheric pressure plasma treatments were used to modify the
surface properties of these materials in order to improve their tribological (properties). Surface
analysis of the samples by means of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) was performed in order
to get information about the surface chemistry and the elemental composition of the contact surfaces.
In addition, wetting experiments were also performed by measuring the contact angle with in
the frame of the sessile drop method. The obtained results allow an evaluation of the surface free energy
of the solids and of the impact of different plasma treatments. The XPS results showed a modification
of the surface composition of both NBR rubbers, while the same treatments produced slight
modifications on the surface chemistry of the HNBR. The main modification was based on an increase
in the oxygen content. The combination of N 2 and CH 3 COOH produced the strongest modifications
of the surface composition of the tested elastomers. All these surface modifications also produced
a change on the surface energy of the rubber-like materials. The results obtained in the contact
angle measurements revealed that the plasma treatments produced a modification of the wettability
of the rubber-like NBRs and, therefore, a modification of their surface free energy.
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