THERMOLUMINESCENCE OF A POLYETHYLENE SURFACE AFTER PLASMA TREATMENT WITH A HIGH-FREQUENCY GLOW-DISCHARGE

The plasma treatment of polyethylene (PE) gives a specific pattern of thermoluminescence (TL). The qualitative difference between the TL curves of PE after plasma treatment and the curves for radioluminescence appears to be due both to specific features of the plasma treatment (attack on the surface of the sample and the unavoidable effect of photobleaching) and to the particular structure of the surface of the polymer (the existence or formation in the surface layer of special low-molecular structures). TL after plasma treatment can therefore be used to investigate the surface structure of polymers.