Library · Materials, chemistry & fabrication
What Surface Modification & Plasma Treatment got wrong, from 54 theses
Summary written by a model from the records below: The records document various physical, chemical, and environmental failure mechanisms encountered when modifying surfaces and applying plasma treatments. Common challenges include substrate degradation from energetic plasma exposure, uncontrolled chemical polymerization, mechanical damage to surface microstructures, bonding or demolding defects, and rapid loss of modified surface properties over time. These records come from graduate theses, 2021 to 2026, each labeled with its degree where the repository states it, and each links to its thesis. They were extracted by language models reading the full text, so treat each as a lead to read, not a verdict.
Plus 9 problems the authors left open, listed at the end.
Failure modes, by theses reporting them
Select a mode to jump to its records.
Energetic plasma exposure and reactive species cause severe substrate erosion and material degradation
High energy plasma bombardment and reactive chemical species degrade thin films, two-dimensional layers, and nanostructures during surface etching or deposition. These aggressive interactions lead to loss of electrical transport, surface defect formation, unwanted oxidation or reduction, and destruction of sensitive biological or polymeric features.
Tried and failed
argon plasma pre-etch surface treatment applied to nanomaterial contact interface formation. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: Excessive plasma bombardment damaged the sensitive nanomaterial channel, degrading electrical transport properties
Lab-to-Fab Monolithic 3D Integrated Carbon Nanotube Transistors: Scaling and Reliability · MIT · PhD
Tried and failed
increasing plasma power during dry etching applied to metal contact performance during recess etching. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: higher RF power caused plasma-induced damage degrading ohmic contact resistance
GaN Complementary-Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) Technology · MIT · PhD
Tried and failed
plasma pre-treatment before dielectric deposition applied to ultrathin barrier semiconductor heterostructures. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: plasma ion bombardment damaged the thin barrier layer and degraded two-dimensional electron gas conductivity
HIGH-SPEED, HIGH-POWER TRANSISTORS ON SINGLE-CRYSTAL ALUMINUM NITRIDE PLATFORM · Cornell · PhD
Lost to a baseline
Introducing oxygen plasma during hybrid MBE BaTiO3 growth resulted in decreased film crystallinity compared to films grown without plasma.
Oxide thin films and surfaces for electro-optics and superconductivity · Harvard · PhD
Tried and failed
prolonged high-power oxygen plasma surface treatment applied to carbon-fiber reinforced polymer composites. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: excessive plasma exposure caused matrix over-erosion and fiber damage, leading to premature interlaminar failure
An investigation into the surface pre-treatment of CFRPs prior to adhesive bonding · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
oxygen plasma etching or cleaning applied to chalcogenide glass nanostructures. Outcome: unstable. Reason: direct low-power oxygen plasma exposure caused severe material degradation of the particles
All-Dielectric Nanophotonic via Glass Fluid Instabilities · EPFL · PhD
Tried and failed
pulsed laser deposition on 2D material interlayers applied to oxide thin film growth on graphene. Reason: harsh plasma plume damaged and etched the 2D layer, preventing mechanical exfoliation
Nanoscale Engineering for Mixed-Dimensional Heterostructure Growth and Integration · MIT · PhD
Tried and failed
PECVD dielectric coating deposition applied to metal oxide contact layers. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: Plasma-generated atomic hydrogen chemically reduced the underlying transition metal oxide layer, degrading device performance.
Tried and failed
oxygen plasma surface treatment applied to ferroelectric oxide thin films. Reason: direct exposure caused dense nanoparticle formation and surface morphology degradation
Conductive ferroelectric domain walls in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 for neuromorphic applications · EPFL · PhD
Tried and failed
reactive ion etching post-calcination applied to porous mesostructured thin films. Reason: plasma infiltrated the void spaces of the porous oxide, degrading pattern fidelity
QUANTUM METAMATERIALS DIRECTED BY BLOCK COPOLYMER SELF-ASSEMBLY VIA ADVANCED MANUFACTURING · Cornell · PhD
Tried and failed
direct PECVD dielectric deposition without buffer layer applied to nanomaterial transistor channels. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: Plasma damage during deposition caused severe current degradation and large parameter variations.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected standard dual-surface oxygen plasma bonding for PDMS-to-gel attachment because plasma exposure degrades substrate-bound ssDNA patterns.
GUIDED ORGANOGENESIS USING MOSAIC PATTERNS OF PROGENITORS · Penn · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected pure reactive O2 sputtering for encapsulating Ag/Cu nanowires because plasma-induced oxygen species oxidize and corrode the metallic nanowires, adopting reactive N2 sputtering with residual H2O/O2 instead.
Rapidly-Deployable Materials Processing Approaches for Energy Applications and Chemical Separations · MIT · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected O2 plasma-based oxidation for ALE because it damages photoresist, causes high porosity in MACE Si nanostructures, and lacks selectivity to high-surface-area features.
Vacuum ultraviolet enhanced atomic layer etching, and area selective atomic layer deposition for next generation nanofabrication · UT Austin · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected hydrogen plasma treatment for introducing -OH groups to repair nano-cracks because high-energy plasma damaged the surface and induced unwanted defect states.
Investigation of Transport Properties in β-Ga2O3 Nanomembranes Under Mechanical Strain · University at Buffalo · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Decided against using O2 plasma etching for TMD pore creation because it oxidizes and degrades monolayer MoS2
Nanostructure Engineering In Two-Dimensional Materials Beyond Graphene · Penn · PhD
Mechanical abrasion and harsh polishing destroy functional surface microtopography and protective layers
Grinding, mechanical polishing, and abrasive surface preparation eliminate the microscale and nanoscale roughness required for wetting properties like superhydrophobicity and superoleophobicity. These physical treatments also remove protective passive films, introduce microscopic voids and microcracks, and damage thin passivation coatings.
Tried and failed
manual surface abrasion of polymer substrates applied to printed conductive silver traces. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: abrasion left microscopic surface voids, failing to eliminate voids and degrading electrical conductivity
Developing Intelligent Structures and Functional Devices Using Novel Smart Materials and Multi-Material Multi-Method (m4) 3D Printing · Georgia Tech · PhD
Tried and failed
solid precursor shot peening without hard media applied to high-speed steel surface modification. Reason: insufficient plastic deformation to drive mechanochemical bonding, creating a weakly adhered layer
Shot-peening-based mechano-chemical surface modification for friction and wear reduction in cutting tools · Georgia Tech · PhD
Tried and failed
silane sol-gel surface modification applied to cellulosic fabrics for superhydrophobic coating. Outcome: unstable. Reason: mechanical abrasion wore away the surface coating and degraded superhydrophobic wettability
Functional cellulosic materials in precision oil-water separation for fatberg point source control · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
mechanical abrasion durability testing via sandpaper grinding applied to superhydrophobic coated mesh. Reason: continuous mechanical friction destroyed the micro- and nanoscale surface topography essential for superhydrophobicity
Functional cellulosic materials in precision oil-water separation for fatberg point source control · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
mechanical surface polishing applied to austenitic stainless steel corrosion resistance. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: polishing removed native protective passive film without sufficient repassivation compared to as-received surface
Bromide induced corrosion of stainless steels and Ni-based alloys · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
fine grit mechanical polishing applied to underwater superoleophobic ceramic substrates. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: polishing smoothed the required microscale surface roughness, degrading anti-oil performance
Bio-inspired functional materials with special interfacial properties · Imperial · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected relying solely on surface roughening/mechanical interlocking, because high adhesive viscosity fails to fill features, creating built-in pre-cracks that sharply lower detachment stress.
Design and Development of Injectable, Tough and Intrinsically-Adhesive Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications · EPFL · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected aggressive mechanical substrate surface treatments (jackhammering/chipping) because they induce >2x higher microcrack densities in normal substrates compared to sandblasting.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected using micro-abrasive systems and steam cleaning because they either cannot reach subsurface coated pores or risk partially dissolving and smearing coatings.
Performance Evaluation of Chemical Poultice Removal of Silane & Siloxane Water-Based Water-Repellent Treatments on Hand-Molded Brick · Penn · Master's
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected dry scrubbing brushes for solar panels because contact abrasion causes irreversible surface scratching that degrades optical transmittance over time.
Charged interfaces and their applications in energy sustainability · MIT · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected sandblasting and physical carving for waveguide surface modification due to inability to programmably generate continuous gradient surface roughness distributions.
Light, fluidics and their applications in global sustainability and health · Cornell · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected mechanical surface grooving/patterning (diamond saw) to promote structural adhesion because it destroys the thin (200nm) Si3N4 passivation coating.
Optimising laser stereolithography for constructing electronic packages onto novel substrates · Nottingham · PhD
Surface treatments and plasma activation induce poor adhesion, bonding failures, and demolding damage
Plasma exposure and chemical etching often alter surface energies undesirably, causing peeling of deposited films or severe stiction during demolding that tears microstructured materials. In other cases, treatments fail to clear contaminants or drive them deeper into substrates, reducing bond strength and preventing proper cell or layer attachment.
Tried and failed
oxygen plasma surface treatment applied to photoresist substrate surface. Reason: excessive hydrophilicity caused liquid patch detachment and non-specific deposition
Controlled deposition of cargo-carrying colloids from dispersed fluid to solid surfaces · Penn · PhD
Tried and failed
oxygen plasma surface treatment for hydrophilicity applied to PDMS substrates for stem cell adhesion. Reason: plasma treatment prevented human embryonic stem cell adhesion to the substrates
Tried and failed
plasma surface modification for demoulding release applied to photopolymerised micro-moulded hydrogels. Reason: insufficient anti-stiction without silanisation caused hydrogel tearing during mould release
Development of a micro-patterned hydrogel scaffold to guide photoreceptor polarization for treatment of macular degeneration · Imperial · PhD
Lost to a baseline
Untreated control sensors had higher 30-day packaging yield (20%) than oxygen-plasma-treated sensors (12%).
A robust sensor design for measuring sweat chloride · Johns Hopkins · Master's
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected using oxygen plasma treatment prior to spin-coating the polymer film destined for delamination, because it prevented spontaneous delamination in water.
Tried and failed
hydrofluoric acid surface etching applied to silicone elastomer substrates. Reason: increased surface hydrophobicity degraded subsequent sputtered metal film adhesion and caused peeling
Development of stencil lithography for stretchable interconnects · EPFL · PhD
Tried and failed
atmospheric pressure plasma surface treatment applied to silicone-contaminated polymer composites. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: treatment dispersed and drove silicone contaminants deeper into the substrate instead of removing them, reducing bond strength
Atmospheric pressure plasma surface engineering to improve polymer matrix composite bonding · Cranfield · PhD
Tried and failed
oxygen plasma treated PEG-DA hydrogel membranes applied to flexible microfluidic polymer devices. Outcome: unstable. Reason: membranes became brittle after plasma treatment and burst under applied pressure
OneProbe: development of a new flexible, microfabricated, device for non-penetrative, multimodal monitoring of the injured brain · Imperial · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected oxygen plasma alone or Ar-O2 plasma without vacuum baking prior to Ti/Cu sputtering because they failed to significantly increase seed-layer adhesion to polymer dielectrics.
Design and Demonstration of Mechanical and Electrical Reliability of 1-micron Redistribution Layers · Georgia Tech · PhD
Tried and failed
dielectric barrier discharge plasma surface treatment applied to silicone-contaminated polymer matrix composites. Reason: failed to remove silicone, instead oxidising residual contamination into silica and masking desired surface functionalisation
Atmospheric pressure plasma surface engineering to improve polymer matrix composite bonding · Cranfield · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Abandoned trilayer graphene insertion under PEDOT:PSS due to poor adhesion and large sheet resistance non-uniformity (14 Ω/sq to 4 kΩ/sq) induced after oxygen plasma treatment.
Impact of Thermal Effects and Other Material Properties on the Performance and Electro-Thermal Reliability of Resistive Random Access Memory Arrays · Virginia Tech · Doctorate
Tried and failed
oxygen plasma treatment with polymer coating applied to elastomeric micromolding release. Reason: caused severe adhesion leading to demolding failure, broken products, and torn molds
Microneedle Patch Delivery of Controlled-Release Microspheres to the Skin · Georgia Tech · PhD
Plasma activated and textured surfaces suffer rapid hydrophobic recovery and environmental aging
Surface functionalization and wettability changes induced by plasma or texturing often degrade rapidly due to ambient moisture exposure, rapid hydrophobic recovery, or critical assembly timing constraints. These environmental instabilities compromise device yield, increase dielectric loss, and cause delamination when exposed to aqueous media or repeated physical erosion.
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected plasma activation of PDMS for long-term culture comparisons due to hydrophobic recovery over time.
Development of a biomicrofluidic model of the gastrointestinal-lymphatic interface · Imperial · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected PDMS/oxygen plasma and standard thermoplastic bonding due to sensitivity to ambient conditions, temperature, humidity, and cleanliness, opting for H2-plasma-treated PTFE
Design, manufacturing, and control of soft–rigid hybrid robots for medical and precision manipulation applications · Boston University · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected plasma treatment for PDMS bonding to glass coverslips during anaerobic microfluidics chip assembly.
The Effects of Spatial Organization and Fluid Flow on the Social Interactions in Microbial Communities · EPFL · PhD
Tried and failed
oxygen plasma surface treatment applied to porous printed dielectric layers. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: plasma treatment substantially increased dielectric loss tangent
Printed degradable piezoelectric microsystems: From ink formulation to device fabrication and characterization · EPFL · PhD
Tried and failed
plasma oxidation of polymer precursor films applied to gas separation membranes. Outcome: unstable. Reason: irreversible degradation in permeance and selectivity upon exposure to water vapor
Nanoengineering Polyorganosilica (POSi) Nanomembrane for Hydrogen Purification · University at Buffalo · PhD
Tried and failed
silane surface functionalisation for polymer bonding applied to bonding PET membrane to PDMS. Outcome: unstable. Reason: membrane delaminated upon exposure to aqueous media
Development of a biomicrofluidic model of the gastrointestinal-lymphatic interface · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
unpassivated porous silicon as hydrophobic adsorbent applied to volatile organic compound preconcentration. Outcome: unstable. Reason: ambient moisture oxidised the surface over time, causing severe loss of hydrophobicity
Nanoporous Silicon in Gas Preconcentration and Sensing · Cambridge · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected bonding a pre-cured PDMS membrane with embedded dielectric spheres onto a microstructured PDMS block due to extremely critical post-plasma alignment timing; replaced by spin-coating PDMS directly on microstructured Si molds before placing spheres.
Silane functionalization fails due to uncontrolled self polymerization and solution aggregation
Prolonged exposure or excessive silane concentrations lead to self-condensation, multilayer formation, and uncontrollable gelation rather than uniform monolayer grafting. As a result, the resulting silane coatings crack substrates, wash off under continuous fluid flow, or reduce pore volume without improving surface properties.
Tried and failed
Extended vapor-phase silane surface functionalization applied to silicon micro/nanostructures for anti-stiction. Reason: Prolonged exposure causes excessive silane polymerization and residue buildup around nanofeatures
Nanoscale Strain Gauges in Flexible Polymer for Biological Cell Force Measurement · Georgia Tech · PhD
Tried and failed
epoxysilane surface functionalization applied to silica optical microresonator biosensors. Outcome: unstable. Reason: Silane formed unstable multilayers that washed off under fluid flow, degrading optical quality factor
Engineering and characterisation of optical nucleic acid sensors · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
Aqueous silanization for polymer surface functionalization applied to PET membranes for microfluidic bonding. Outcome: unstable. Reason: Silane self-polymerization in aqueous solution led to poor adhesion and delamination under fluid shear stress
An Organ-on-a-chip model of pulmonary arterial hypertension · Imperial · PhD
Tried and failed
high-concentration silane surface functionalization applied to optical sensor substrates. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: silane self-condensation produced surface aggregates and induced substrate cracking
All-Dielectric Nanophotonic via Glass Fluid Instabilities · EPFL · PhD
Tried and failed
One-pot surface functionalization by amine-silane substitution applied to cellulose nanocrystals. Outcome: unstable. Reason: Silane cross-linked uncontrollably into an irreversible gel instead of grafting to the particle surface
Scalable Approaches to Manufacturing Nanocellulose-Glass-Fiber Reinforced Composites · Georgia Tech · PhD
Tried and failed
chlorotrimethylsilane surface silanization applied to porous boron nitride adsorbents. Outcome: worse than baseline. Reason: monolayer formation reduced average pore size without significantly enhancing hydrophobicity
Using porous boron nitride in adsorption-based processes: investigation of material challenges and opportunities · Imperial · Doctorate
Tried and failed
silane-assisted surface coating of porous media applied to flow-through reactive contaminant remediation. Outcome: unstable. Reason: active reagent rapidly leached under continuous flow, precipitating inactive secondary sludge within minimal pore volumes
Development of Ferrate (Fe(VI))-Coated Sand Composites for Stabilized Reactivity and Remediation of (In)Organic Contaminants in Synthetic Wastewater Effluent · University of Washington · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Liquid-phase silane immersion without sonication/optimisation was rejected due to excessive ambient moisture causing silane polymerisation and surface inhomogeneities
Functionalised organic field-effect transistors as biosensors for circulating-tumour DNA detection · Imperial · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Liquid-phase OTES silanization rejected due to uncontrolled silane polymerization bridging unhydroxylated sites and interfering with surface assays.
Methods for High-Contrast Photoluminescence and Label-Free Surface-Sensitive Detection · Tübingen · PhD
Considered and rejected
Considered and rejected: Rejected silica rehydroxylation in 0.1 M HCl prior to MPS functionalization because it decreased trivalent T3 siloxane bonding and yielded no surface coverage benefit.
Left open by the authors
Problems the authors named and did not get to.
Left open
Apply plasma treatment or surface polymer grafting with alternative nanomaterials to produce superhydrophilic nanofibrous membranes. Blocker: Requires a wet chemistry lab, electrospinning equipment, and plasma treatment/chemical synthesis apparatus
Development of Multifunctional Nanofibrous Membrane Material for Biological Wastewater Treatment · York University · Master's
Left open
Perform in vitro biophysical characterization of purified full-length PLEKHA4 or isolated C-terminal domains to analyze plasma membrane puncta formation. Blocker: Requires wet lab facilities for protein purification and in vitro biophysical assays
FROM MECHANISM TO THERAPEUTICS: DECIPHERING THE ROLES OF A NOVEL LIPID-BINDING PROTEIN IN WNT SIGNALING AND CANCER · Cornell · PhD
Left open
Modify PDMS microfluidic channel surfaces with surfactant coatings, grafting, or hydrophilic polymers to reduce protein adsorption during flow. Blocker: Requires a wet lab and microfluidic fabrication equipment to perform chemical surface modifications and flow experiments.
Studying conformational changes and aggregation in biopharmaceuticals using FTIR spectroscopic imaging · Imperial · PhD
Left open
Investigate time-dependent efficacy degradation of textured condenser surfaces. Blocker: Requires experimental aging data, physical degradation testing, or specialized material fouling studies
Technoeconomic Analysis of Textured Surfaces for Improved Condenser Performance in Thermoelectric Power Plants · Virginia Tech · Master's
Left open
Evaluate chemical etching and automated polishing methods for Small Punch Test sample preparation and measure their impact on surface finish. Blocker: Requires a physical metallography laboratory, chemical etching chemicals, polishing apparatus, and surface profilometry equipment.
Exploration of the Additive Manufacturing Process Development Space using High-throughput Mechanical Property Assays · Georgia Tech · PhD
Left open
Prevent semiconductor surface oxidation in aqueous solution and enhance micromotor compatibility with high-ionic-strength media. Blocker: Requires a wet lab and materials/chemical apparatus to modify surface chemistry and test in liquid media.
Light modulation of electric field driven semiconductor micromotors · UT Austin · PhD
Left open
Implement surface modifications (PVA, PEG, LbL) or switch to thermoplastics (PC, PMMA, COC) to preserve long-term microchannel wettability. Blocker: Requires a wet lab, microfabrication facilities, and chemical reagents for surface treatment.
Capillary-driven Microfluidic Biosensing Platforms for Digital Biomolecule Detection · Texas Tech · PhD
Left open
Evaluate the long-term durability and hydrophobic performance of micro-textured cementitious surfaces under real-world environmental exposure conditions. Blocker: Requires physical cement samples, fabrication tools, outdoor weathering exposure, and physical testing equipment.
Cement-based materials with hydrophobic micro-textured surface · Imperial · Doctorate
Left open
Couple weathering rates to fluid transport through micro-cracks and reactive surface exposure dynamically in a finite element homogenization framework. Blocker: Lacks specific governing equations, reaction kinetics formulations, or validation datasets defined in the thesis summary.
Homogenization of Coupled Deformation, Damage and Diffusion Processes in Rocks and Finite Element Applications in Geomechanics and Geomorphology · Georgia Tech · PhD
Who has worked on this
Authors of the public theses cited on this page, most-cited first.
- Jake Samuel · Imperial · PhD · 2025
Development of a biomicrofluidic model of the gastrointestinal-lymphatic interface - Tsaone Gosiamemang · Imperial · PhD · 2024
Functional cellulosic materials in precision oil-water separation for fatberg point source control - Pierre-Luc Eloi Piveteau · EPFL · PhD · 2024
All-Dielectric Nanophotonic via Glass Fluid Instabilities - Lydia Frumosu · Cranfield · PhD · 2024
Atmospheric pressure plasma surface engineering to improve polymer matrix composite bonding - Hun Chan Lee · Boston University · PhD · 2026
Design, manufacturing, and control of soft–rigid hybrid robots for medical and precision manipulation applications - EK Kim · Cornell · PhD · 2025
HIGH-SPEED, HIGH-POWER TRANSISTORS ON SINGLE-CRYSTAL ALUMINUM NITRIDE PLATFORM - Kim Anh Pham · Georgia Tech · PhD · 2025
Scalable Approaches to Manufacturing Nanocellulose-Glass-Fiber Reinforced Composites - Trevor Raymond Devine · Penn · PhD · 2025
LEVERAGING CONFINEMENT AND SURFACE EFFECTS TO CONTROL POLYMER PHASE BEHAVIOR AND TRANSPORT PHENOMENA IN POLYMER-INFILTRATED NANOPARTICLE FILMS - Vinh Bui · University at Buffalo · PhD · 2025
Nanoengineering Polyorganosilica (POSi) Nanomembrane for Hydrogen Purification - Zachary Stephen Courtright · Georgia Tech · PhD · 2024
Exploration of the Additive Manufacturing Process Development Space using High-throughput Mechanical Property Assays - Larissa Brigid Little · Harvard · PhD · 2024
Oxide thin films and surfaces for electro-optics and superconductivity - Andrew C. Yu · MIT · PhD · 2024
Lab-to-Fab Monolithic 3D Integrated Carbon Nanotube Transistors: Scaling and Reliability
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