Cédric Vandenabeele

• PhD
• Product Developer at Innovative Coating Solutions

A new plasmonic biosensor was developed in a planar chip-based format by coupling the plasmonic properties of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) with the mechanical and bioadhesive features of unconventional organic thin films deposited from plasma, namely primary amine-based plasma polymer films (PPFs). A self-assembled layer of spherical Au NPs, 12 nm i...

A mixed PVD/PECVD deposition process of DLC films with acetylene precursor and graphite magnetron target was simulated using a 3D Particle-in-Cell Monte-Carlo (PIC-MC) code. The simulation comprises of a carefully chosen, self-contained plasma chemistry scheme involving 18 species and 150 reactions, and a dynamic deposition model that includes ion...

A study of plasma polymerization of cyclopropylamine in a low-pressure cylindrical magnetron reactor is presented. Both experimental and numerical approaches are used to investigate thin film growth mechanisms and polymer film properties depending on the magnetic field strength. Combining both approaches enables the consistency of the numerical mod...

Nanoscale particulate materials draw great interest in an increasing number of applications, such as electronics, energy storage, automotive, health or environment. In particular, the addition of nanofillers in a polymer matrix can significantly improve the thermal, mechanical, electrical, optical, and biological or corrosion protection properties...

Dispersibility of agglomerated/aggregated particles, i.e. complex solids is of key interest for application in various suspension based formulations. Dispersibility in a given matrix obviously depends on chemical nature of the primary nanoparticles. Surface modification allows to tune dispersibility characteristics specifically. It was presumed tha...

This work describes a combined experimental and numerical study of a low pressure argon plasma in a cylindrical magnetron reactor. The plasma properties are first investigated experimentally using optical emission spectroscopy as a function of the position in the reactor and the applied power, for two excitation modes (pulsed direct current and pul...

Low-pressure plasma polymerization of cyclopropylamine was employed for the surface functionalization of commercial ZnO, Al2O3, and ZrO2 nanoparticles in a homemade hollow cathode plasma reactor. The analysis of the modified nanoparticles by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the incorporation of reactive functional groups such as prim...

Two distinct methods of producing N-rich films, that mainly differ in their choice of precursor are compared; the first method involves a single source precursor and the second, a mixture of precursors that consists of a heteroatom source gas and hydrocarbon (HC) gas. Plasma diagnostics and thin film chemistry of allylamine (AA), cyclopropylamine (...

Primary amine-based plasma polymer films (NH2-PPFs) attract great attention due to their potential for various biomedical applications. In this context, in order to better understand the growth mechanism of such coatings, we investigate the impact of the precursor mixture on plasma chemistry and ultimately, on PPFs properties. PPFs are synthesized...

A continuous-flow plasma process working at atmospheric pressure is developed to enhance the adhesion between a rubber compound and a zinc-plated steel monofilament, with the long term objective to find a potential alternative to the electrolytic brass plating process, which is currently used in tire industry. For this purpose, a highly efficient t...

On-line atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of cylindrical substrates is of great interest in tire industry in view of developing a cheaper and cleaner process than electrolytic plating ones that are applied on metallic tire reinforcing materials. Here we assess the feasibility of such a continuous treatment by depositing organo-chlorinated thin...

Back Cover: Organo-chlorinated thin films are produced from dichloromethane on zinc-plated steel wires in a continuous-flow AP-DBD plasma process. High quality layers can be deposited at high deposition rates. A wide range of chlorinated species are created in the Ar discharge, ranging from small volatile gaseous molecules to large-sized PAH. An in...

The primary objective of this thesis project is to develop a plasma process able to replace the electrolytic brass plating process, which is currently performed on steel wires used as reinforcing materials in tires to make them bond with rubber. The chosen strategy consists in depositing organo-chlorinated thin films in a continuous way on zinc-pla...

Tires are complex composites made of rubber and reinforcing materials for which excellent bonding is currently obtained. However, new bonding technologies are constantly sought to expand beyond the constraints of existing art and achieve higher levels of key tire properties such as durability and fuel efficiency. Plasma polymerized coatings were in...