Effect of chemical modification on the mechanical properties of plasma-polymerized organosilicones

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. Plasma-polymerized films of tetravinylsilane or its mixture with oxygen gas were deposited at low effective powers (0.1–10 W) using RF pulsed plasma. The Young's modulus and hardness of the plasma polymer films were characterized by conventional instrumented nanoindentation. Based on a chemical analysis of the deposited films, the chemical modification of the plasma polymer network was responsible for changing the mechanical properties. More cross-linked and stiffer plasma polymer networks resulted in increased mechanical properties of films deposited from pure tetravinylsilane. However, the oxygen atoms from the monomer mixture with oxygen gas resulted in the formation of stronger chemical species but decreased plasma polymer cross-linking that altered the mechanical properties.