Polymers can be found everywhere—both naturally occurring or artificially synthesized such as
starch and toothpaste. New methods for polymer synthesis are at the forefront of materials research
due to their ideal mechanical and chemical properties, such as strength, hardness, and durability.
Properties can be influenced by polymer length and polymerization conditions. This research
investigated a novel dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD), non-thermal plasma-based approach to
prepare poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) in situ. The goal was to achieve a reduction in the energy and
preparation time required to prepare PAA on specific surfaces such as porous materials, which has
proven a challenge for different methods of polymerization such as UV, thermal, and traditional
hot plasma polymerization. This work generated data that will provide guidance for the overall
efficiency, such as cost and polymerization time of the DBD plasma approach for the treatment of
polymer coatings. This research will study the plasma-initiated polymerization of PAA and display
the concept of remote polymerization. This efficient method could be applied in the industrial
setting. The DBD plasma- initiated polymerization of AA will be explored with a focus on the
kinetics and mechanism of polymerization and we will compare our PAA data to other studies
using different polymerization methods.
