Doping of ion implanted polyethylene with metallocarborane

Polyethylene samples implanted with 150 keV F⁺ ions to the doses from 5 × 10¹³-1 × 10¹⁵cm^-2 were exposed to 0.05 M water solution of metallocarborane [(C₂B₉H₁₁)₂Co]Cs at temperatures of 24, 50 and 85°C, and the diffusion and incorporation of elements in the sample surface layer were studied using Rutherford back-scattering and neutron depth profiling techniques. The amount of incorporated B and Cs atoms was found to be an increasing function of the temperature for all implanted doses. The indiffusion and incorporation of the [(C₂B₉H₁₁)₂Co]^- anion and the Cs⁺ cation proceed separately and the final B Cs ratio is well below metallocarborane stoichiometry in most cases. The total amount of incorporated Cs and B atoms and their depth profiles depend on the implanted dose in very complicated manner. For lower implanted doses anomalous depth profiles of B and Cs, roughly following calculated profiles of electronic energy loss of F⁺ ions are observed.