Polypropylene is a typical representative of synthetic polymers that, for many applications including adhesive joints, requires an increase in wettability and chemical surface reactivity. Plasma processing offers efficient methods for such surface modifications. A particular disadvantage of the plasma jets can be the small plasma area. Here, we present a cold atmospheric plasma radio-frequency slit jet developed with a width of 150 mm applied to polypropylene plasma treatment in Ar, Ar/O${}_2$ and Ar/N${}_2$ We identified two main parameters influencing the tensile strength of adhesive joints mediated by epoxy adhesive DP 190, nitrogen content, and the amount of low molecular weight oxidized materials (LMWOMs). Nitrogen functional groups promoted adhesion between epoxy adhesive DP 190 and the PP by taking part in the curing process. LMWOMs formed a weak boundary layer, inhibiting adhesion by inducing a cohesive failure of the joint. A trade off between these two parameters determined the optimized conditions at which the strength of the adhesive joint increased 4.5 times. Higher adhesion strength was previously observed when using a translational plasma gliding arc plasma jet with higher plasma gas temperatures, resulting in better cross linking of polymer chains caused by local PP melting.

Excellent adhesion of electrospun nanofiber (NF) to textile support is crucial for a broad range of their bioapplications, e.g., wound dressing development. We compared the effect of several low- and atmospheric pressure plasma modifications on the adhesion between two parts of composite—polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous mat (functional part) and polypropylene (PP) spunbond fabric (support). The support fabrics were modified before electrospinning by low-pressure plasma oxygen treatment or amine plasma polymer thin film or treated by atmospheric pressure plasma slit jet (PSJ) in argon or argon/nitrogen. The adhesion was evaluated by tensile test and loop test adapted for thin NF mat measurement and the trends obtained by both tests largely agreed. Although all modifications improved the adhesion significantly (at least twice for PSJ treatments), low-pressure oxygen treatment showed to be the most effective as it strengthened adhesion by a factor of six. The adhesion improvement was ascribed to the synergic effect of high treatment homogeneity with the right ratio of surface functional groups and sufficient wettability. The low-pressure modified fabric also stayed long-term hydrophilic (ten months), even though surfaces usually return to a non-wettable state (hydrophobic recovery). In contrast to XPS, highly surface-sensitive water contact angle measurement proved suitable for monitoring subtle surface changes.

The radio frequency plasma slit jet, which produces 150 mm wide streaming plasma outside the jet body, exhibits exciting self-organization phenomena that resemble the self-organized patterns of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) filaments. Similarly, as in DBD, the filaments are surrounded by an inhibition zone that does not allow two filaments to come closer to each other. With fast camera imaging, we observed the filamentary character of the discharge in all the studied gas feeds (Ar, Ar/N ₂ , and Ar/O ₂ ). Still, the visual appearance of the filaments in the plasma and their interaction with a dielectric surface depended significantly on the gas feed. As the breakdown voltage in pure Ar is relatively low compared to the applied one, new filaments form frequently. Such newly created filaments disrupted the characteristic inter-filament distance, forcing the system to rearrange. The frequent ignition and decay processes in Ar led to short filament lifetimes (0.020–0.035 s) and their high jitter speed (0.9–1.7 m s ⁻¹ ), as determined with an image processing custom code based on Gwyddion libraries. The number of filaments was lower in the Ar/O ₂ and Ar/N ₂ mixtures. It was attributed to a loss of energy in the excitation of rotational and vibrational levels and oxygen electronegativity. Since the probability of low-current side discharges transitioning into the full plasma filaments was limited in these gas mixtures, the self-organized pattern was seldom disrupted, leading to lesser movement and longer lifetimes. Unlike in Ar or Ar/O ₂ , the constricted filaments in Ar/N ₂ were surrounded by diffuse plasma plumes, likely connected to the presence of long-lived nitrogen species. We demonstrated in the polypropylene treatment that the self-organization phenomena affected the treatment uniformity.

The cold atmospheric plasma jets change their character when interacting with the different surfaces. Since such interaction is the primary area of plasma jet applications, it is essential to monitor the process. The non-linearity of the RF plasma slit jet (PSJ) was analyzed using the VI probes and a novel method, the non-intrusive antenna measurements. Regardless of the experimental setup and gas mixture (Ar, Ar/O₂, Ar/N₂), the PSJ frequency spectrum consisted of the following main features: dominant fundamental frequency peak, relatively strong odd harmonics, and significantly weaker even harmonics. The lowest degree of non-linearity was recorded for the Ar PSJ ignited against a grounded target. Admixing a molecular gas increased the discharge non-linearity. It was attributed to the enhancement of secondary electron emission from the dielectric surfaces. In addition to the non-linearity analysis, the antenna spectra were for the first time used to determine the semi-quantitative values of the PSJ-radiated electric field. The electric fields decreased by a factor of 2 after the admixing of nitrogen and oxygen molecular gases. Out of the studied targets, the highest electric fields were observed when plasma impinged on the grounded targets, followed by the floating target (2× lower) and the PSJ ignited in the open space configuration (4× lower than in the grounded target configuration).

The ability of atmospheric pressure plasma jets to treat complex non-planar surfaces is often cited as their advantage over other atmospheric plasmas. However, the effect of complex surfaces on plasma parameters and treatment efficiency has seldom been studied. Herein, we investigate the interaction of the atmospheric pressure plasma slit jet (PSJ) with block polypropylene samples of different thicknesses (5 and 30 mm) moving at two different speeds. Even though the distance between the slit outlet and the sample surface was kept constant, the treatment efficiency of PSJ ignited in the Ar and $$\hbox {Ar/O}_2$$Ar/O 2 gas feeds varied with the sample thickness due to the plasma parameters such as filament count and speed being affected by the different distances of the ground (the closer the ground is, the higher the discharge electric field). On the other hand, the $$\hbox {Ar/N}_2$$Ar/N 2 PSJ diffuse plasma plumes were less affected by the changes in the electric field, and the treatment efficiency was the same for both sample thicknesses. Additionally, we observed a difference in the efficiency and uniformity of the PSJ treatment of the edges and the central areas in some working conditions. The treatment efficiency near the edges depended on the duration of the filament contact, i. e., how long the local electric field trapped the filaments. Conversely, the treatment uniformity near the edges and in the central areas was different if the number of filaments changed rapidly as the discharge moved on and off the sample (the 5 mm samples treated by easily sustained Ar PSJ).

Effective wound healing requires scaffolds that can prevent infection and support tissue regeneration. Bioprinted chitosan hydrogels are promising candidates due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and tunable properties. To further enhance their functionality, we employed two plasma processing strategies using cold atmospheric pressure plasma jets. The plasma treatment of the chitosan solvent used to prepare the hydrogel markedly enhanced the mechanical strength, thermal stability, and antibacterial characteristics (≥2‐log reduction) of the bioprinted scaffolds, rendering them suitable for applications requiring long‐term durability and infection resistance. The plasma treatment of the already printed scaffolds improved surface bioactivity, facilitating enhanced cell adhesion and proliferation, which are essential for tissue regeneration.