Effect of plasma modification of surface and sterilization on optical characteristics of polyethylene terephthalate track membranes

Effect of plasma modification of surface and sterilization processes on optical characteristics of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) track membrane (TM) is studied. The TMs are fabricated with the aid of irradiation of PET using $^{40}$Ar$^{+8}$ ion beam and etching in a 1.5-M solution of NaOH. The TMs are modified using low temperature plasma and sterilized with the aid of autoclave treatment and gamma irradiation. The PET TMs exhibit low transmittance and refractivity due to formation of structural inhomogeneities and polymer crystal structure. The effect of plasma and sterilization leads to a decrease in the TM transmittance owing to an increase in the degree of crystallinity and formation of membrane artifacts.