Poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) was implanted by oxygen ion with energy of 40 keV. The influence of experimental parameters was investigated by varying ion fluence from 1 x 10(12) to 1 x 10(15) ions/cm(2). XPS, SEM, surface roughness, wettability, hardness, and modulus were employed to investigate structure and properties of the as-implanted PPC samples. Eight chemical groups, i.e., carbon, [GRAPHICS] groups were observed on surfaces of the as-implanted samples. The species and relative intensities of the chemical groups changed with increasing ion fluence. SEM images displayed that irradiation damage was related strongly with ion fluence. Both surface -recovering and shrunken behavior were observed on surface of the PPC sample implanted with fluence of 1 x 10(15) ions/cm(2). As increasing ion fluence, the surface roughness of the as-implanted PPC samples increased firstly, reached the maximum value of 159 nm, and finally decreased down the minimum value. The water droplet contact angle of the as-implanted PPC samples changed gradually with fluence, and reached the minimum value of 70 degrees with fluence of 1 x 10(15) ions/cm(2). The hardness and modulus of the as-implanted PPC samples increased with increasing ion fluence, and reached their corresponding maximum values with fluence of 1 x 10(15) ions/cm(2). The experimental results revealed that oxygen ion fluence closely affected surface chemical group, morphology, surface roughness, wettability, and mechanical properties of the as-implanted PPC samples. (C) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.