Surface modification of plastics by plasma treatment and plasma polymerization and its effect on adhesion

Abstract

The adhesion between plasma-modified polyethylene (PE) and Merent polar polymers, as well as aluminium and steel, has been studied. The PE was modified by either oxygen plasma treatment or plasma polymerization of acrylic acid. The results show the importance of introducing polar groups on the surface of the non-polar PE in order to improve the adhesion to polar polymers as well as metals. Laminates made of plasma-modi6ed PE and polyamide 6 (PA-6) or poly(ethy1ene vinyl alcohol) (EVAL-G) showed failure in P A 4 or EVAGG when delaminated. Poly(ethy1ene terephthalate) (PET), which is not as polar as P A 4 or EVAIPG, showed an adhesive failure when the PE was treated with either of the plasma methods. However, when both the PET and the PE were modified, the failure occurred in the PET upon delamination. Oxygen plasma treatment of PE resulted io an increased adhesion when laminated with cellophane, with no observed material failure. The laminates composed of plasma-mdied PE and aluminium or steel showed cohesive failure in the PE.

Modification of polysulfone membranes. 2. Plasma grafting and plasma polymerization of acrylic acid

“…Acrylic acid plasma polymerization and copolymerization was a subject of several papers [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Some authors claim that level of functionality and chemical structure retention in the deposit can be controlled by the plasma deposition power [36].…”

“…Some authors claim that level of functionality and chemical structure retention in the deposit can be controlled by the plasma deposition power [36]. Low power plasma results in the film very similar to the conventional poly(acrylic acid) with respect to carboxyl groups presence, film wettability and other properties [30,32,35,36]. In such case the plasma polymerization could serve as an alternative way of introducing acidic group on the PSU membrane surface.…”

Plasma modification of natural cellulosic fibres

“…[61][62][63] However, surface treatments of thermoplastics were also found to be effective in creating composites. 64 Results from hydrogen and oxygen RF-plasma treatments of fi lter paper (open texture and free from low-molecular-weight materials) and grease-proof paper (closed texture and the presence of lowmolecular-weight compounds) indicated that hydrogen plasma environments reduce the cellulose surfaces and generate low molecular weight degradation products, whereas oxygen plasma exposure increases the relative surface oxygen content and improves adhesion (see Figure 10). 61 It was shown that reduction of cellulose surfaces does not infl uence the adhesion signifi cantly.…”

Evaluation of Adhesion Strength Between Thin Aluminum Layer and Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Substrate by Peel Tests — A Practical Approach for the Packaging Industry

“…The peel test is widely used to measure the adhesion strength of a metallized layer on the polymeric substrate [8,[11][12][13][14], particularly for the quantitative evaluation of the metal adhesion after modification of the chemical composition of the polymeric surface, for example by means of plasma pre-treatment [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22].…”