Atomistic investigation on interfacial properties of glass surfaces modeling plasma modification and the influence of wettability conditions on adhesion

The utilization of plasma technology is a hot research topic in the field of glasses surface treatment, as there are still many urgent problems to overcome so as to improve adhesion strength. The improvement of surface wettability plays a leading role in bonding glasses to other materials. In this study, wettability models of water nanodroplets interaction with glass surfaces mimicking plasma modification were conducted by molecular dynamics simulation. The physicochemical properties of the material surface and environmental conditions have an important influence on the wettability evolution of the modified glass surface. The relative concentration, mean square displacement, adhesion energy were used to quantify the effect of wettability conditions on water-silica systems. The simulation calculations indicated that functional groups had a positive impact on the wettability improvement of glasses. As the density of functional groups on the glass surface increased, the surface wettability was significantly improved to form a dense water film on the surface. Increasing the roughness of the modified glass surface weakened its adhesion strength. Ambient temperature and moisture had little effect on surface wettability, while the evaporation of water molecules enhanced with the increase of temperature. These findings provide an insight into the wettability mechanism and vital information for improving the interface performance of plasma-modified glass surfaces.