Plasma technology utilises the existence of plasma which is the fourth state of matter, the others being solid, liquid, and gas. When extra energy is applied to a gas, it is ionised and becomes plasma. Plasma was discovered in 1928 and is incredibly abundant – it can be seen in lightning, as polar light such as the Northern Lights, or as a corona around the sun.
Plasma technology is utilised in many situations, notably those where materials need to be combined or where surface properties need altering. When it comes to applications, there are many, but probably the most common ones at present are cleaning, enhancing or altering surface adhesiveness, and the production of thin coatings.
Cleaning
Plasma cleaning has a number of unique advantages over other cleaning processes. It can break down the organic bonds of common surface contaminants such as oils and grease. This means that it can deliver a ‘spotless’ surface. It can clean even in the tiniest of cracks and gaps, remove molecularly fine residues, and does not produce damaging waste materials. There is no need for solvents or harsh chemicals.
Plasma cleaning is suitable for molecular-level cleaning of metal surfaces, surface preparation of plastics and elastomers, cleaning of ceramics, and surface preparation and cleaning of general glass products.
Surface activation
Many polymers do not adhere/bond easily to other materials, such as paints and glues. Plasma surface activation is a method that is used to make polymers considerably more receptive to bonding agents and coatings. It involves attaching polar molecular groups to plastic polymers, which, in turn, increases their adherence. Oxygen is often used in this process.
Coatings
The plasma coating process produces an almost undetectable polymer layer on the surface of an object. The coating is typically less than 1/100th the width of a human hair. These coatings are popular as they are clear, subtle, and odourless. These plasma polymer coatings provide up to 10x longer non-stick life compared with standard polymer coatings.
If you wish to learn more about plasma polymer composite, there are some excellent online resources available such as: https://www.poeton.co.uk/advanced-treatments/apticote-810-plasma-polymer-composite/.
Future applications
Because it contains so much energy (enough to alter the base atomic structure of substances), plasma could be used to destroy toxic waste. It could also be used in medicine for sanitising or cauterisation.