Plasma Treatments of Melt-Extruded Blend Sheets of Recycled PET/Poly(ε-caprolactone)
Melt-extruded sheets of blends of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (R-PET) with poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were exposed to plasmas of different reactivity; non-oxidative Ar and N2, and oxidative O2. Mass loss by etching and morphology changes to the surfaces were investigated with regard to the discharge power effects as well as the plasma gas source reactivity. The sheets of PCL and PCL-rich blends were more susceptible to the oxidative plasmas, although still resistant to non-oxidative plasmas. Generation of microstructures was observed on wavy or granular forms of morphology of the original sheets after the plasma treatments, according to the SPM observations.