Controlled carbonization is very critical in improving the effect of laser‐induced patterns on a polymer surface. In the present work, the effects of a multilayered structure on the physical and laser‐marking properties of a low‐density polyethylene/polystyrene (LDPE/PS) multilayered film are studied. The multilayered film is prepared using nanolayer coextrusion and treated in air by scanning with a neodymium‐doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) pulsed laser beam. Based on various analyses, the laser‐induced patterns on the LDPE/PS multilayered film are significantly different from those on a conventional LDPE/PS blend. Furthermore, a mechanism for controlling the carbonized area of a multilayered film is proposed. This study also provides an effective method to fabricate laser‐patterning polymer materials based on a multilayered structure. Nanolayer coextrusion will have broad application prospects in the field of polymer laser marking. Importantly, this work opens up a valuable and viable direction for the practical application of these multilayered polymer materials.
Front Cover: Controlled carbonization is very critical in improving the effect of laser‐induced patterns on a polymer surface. In article number 1800726 by Chunlin Liu, Hongting Pu, and co‐workers, an efficient and flexible method to produce high definition and high contrast laser patterned polymers is developed through the multilayered structure via nanolayer coextrusion. The effects of a multilayered structure on the laser responsive properties are studied, and a mechanism for controlling the carbonized area of a multilayered film is proposed. Note that the pattern “loong” (Chinese mascot) is marked on the laser response layers by laser treatment. This work opens up a valuable and viable direction for the practical application of these multilayered polymer materials.
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