Surface wetting processing on BNNT films by selective plasma modes

The wettability of boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) films was modified using a combination of pulsed and continuous wave (CW) mode plasma. The combined mode effectively modified the wettability of BNNT films and kept the nanostructures intact. The BNNT films changed from superhydrophobic to superhydrophilic after combined mode treatment at 600 W min. In contrast, the contact angle controllable decreased linearly in a controllable way with increasing energy input before eventually becoming superhydrophilic after 1000 W min of CW mode treatment. A high concentration of graft functional groups formed, along with point defects. More point defects formed when using combined modes and higher energy input. Mainly amine functional groups were grafted by combined mode plasma, while the CW mode plasma led to more formation of amide and imine on the BNNTs. Research into controllable wettability and selection of grafted functional groups should enable promising applications of BNNTs in composites and biology in the future.