Effect of ozone treatment on dyeability of polyethylene film

The surface energy and the effect of functional groups on the surface of the ozone-treated low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film were studied. Treatment conditions were treatment time, total amount of transferred ozone, and ozone concentration. The introduction of polar groups on the surface of LDPE film after ozone treatment was confirmed by FTIR-ATR and XPS analyses. Surface free energy of the LDPE film was examined by a contact angle method. The ozone treated-LDPE film showed a decreased water contact angles about 15° mainly due to the increased concentration of oxygen-containing functional groups, which was attributed to the increased surface free energy or O_1S/C _1S. Also, the concentrations of the oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of LDPE film increased with ozone treatment time and concentration, whereas no significant effects were found for the total amount of transferred ozone. From the dyeability test using Kubelka-Munk equation, it was found that the ozone treatment plays an important role in the growth of oxygen-containing functional groups of LDPE film, resulting in the improvement of dyeability for basic dyeing agent.