Plastic Surface Modification

Polymer surface modification is a topic that has been the object of a large number of investigations by academia and industry, but relatively little attention has been paid to surface activation technologies which, when appropriately utilized, make specific polymer-based surfaces receptive to value-adding interfaces such as inks, coating and adhesive formulations. Adhesion strength is generally determined by the properties of a base material and its interface. Optimizing adhesion strength can be accomplished by modifying these interfaces chemically and physically. As polymers are continually engineered to meet new product application requirements, optimizing the activation of these surfaces requires a fresh look at cost effective ways to etch, clean and functionalize them. These demands require detailed information on the surface treatment of classic materials, as well as an examination of the latest surface treatment machine designs available anywhere in the world today which are used to process these materials. There are four full chapters devoted specifically to corona, ozone, flame, and plasma discharge surface treatment technologies; and an interesting and useful identification of common adhesion maladays.

An indispensable volume detailing the current and potential applications of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment by experts practicing in fields around the world Polymers are used in a wide variety of industries to fabricate legions of products because of their many desirable traits. However, polymers in general (and polyolefins, in particular) are innately not very adhesionable because of the absence of polar or reactive groups on their surfaces and concomitant low surface energy. Surface treatment of polymers, however, is essential to impart reactive chemical groups on their surfaces to enhance their adhesion characteristic. Proper surface treatment can endow polymers with improved adhesion without affecting the bulk properties. A plethora of techniques (ranging from wet to dry, simple to sophisticated, vacuum to non-vacuum) for polymer surface modification have been documented in the literature but the Atmospheric Pressure Plasma (APP) treatment has attracted much attention because it offers many advantages vis-a-vis other techniques, namely uniform treatment, continuous operation, no need for vacuum, simplicity, low cost, no environmental or disposal concern, and applicability to large area samples. Although the emphasis in this book is on the utility of APP treatment for enhancement of polymer adhesion, APP is also applicable and effective to modulate many other surface properties of polymers: superhydrophilicity, superhydrophobicity, anti-fouling, anti-fogging, anti-icing, cell adhesion, biocompatibility, tribological behavior, etc. The key features of Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Treatment of Polymers: Address design and functions of various types of reactors Bring out current and potential applications of APP treatment Represent the cumulative wisdom of many key academic and industry researchers actively engaged in this key and enabling technology

The topic of polymer surface modification is of tremendous contemporary interest because of its critical importance in many and varied technological applications where polymers are used. Currently there is brisk research activity in unraveling the mechanisms of surface modification and finding ways to prolong the life of surface treatment. Also there is acute interest and need to devise new, improved and economical means to modify polymer surfaces. This book is divided into three parts as follows: Part 1: Surface Modification Techniques; Part 2: Interfacial Aspects and Adhesion; Part 3: General Papers. The topics covered include: various techniques for surface modification including plasma (both vacuum and atmospheric pressure), ozone, photografting, UV photo-oxidation, laser, use of charged particles and others for a variety of polymers; longevity of surface treatment; hydrophobic recovery; fabrication of high-density polymer nano-dots; immobilization of organometallic catalysts on textile carrier materials; polymer membrane antifouling properties; electroless metallization of polymers; effects of surface modification on interfacial shear strength of composites, cord/rubber adhesion, adhesion of UV-curable coatings and attachment of hyperbranched polymers; plasma polymerization; block copolymers; application of plasma technology in decontamination of heat-sensitive polymer surfaces. In essence this book reflects the current state-of-the-knowledge in the arena and represents the work of many renowned scientists and technologists. It should be of interest to anyone with a desire or need to learn the latest R&D activity in this domain and the information contained here should be very valuable in deciding the optimum surface modification technique for his/her particular requirements.

POLYMER SURFACE MODIFICATION TO ENHANCE ADHESION This unique, comprehensive and groundbreaking book is the first on this important subject. Polymer Surface Modification to Enhance Adhesion comprises 13 chapters and is divided into two parts: Part 1: Energetic Treatments; and Part 2: Chemical Treatments. Topics covered include atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of polymers to enhance adhesion; corona treatment of polymer surfaces to enhance adhesion; flame surface treatment of polymers to enhance adhesion; vacuum UV photo-oxidation of polymer surfaces to enhance adhesion; optimization of adhesion of polymers using photochemical surface modification UV/Ozone surface treatment of polymers to enhance adhesion; adhesion enhancement of polymer surfaces by ion beam treatment; polymer surface modification by charged particles; laser surface modification of polymeric materials; competition in adhesion between polysort and monosort functionalized polyolefinic surfaces; amine-terminated dendritic materials for polymer surface modification; arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) modification of polymer surfaces; and adhesion promoters for polymer surfaces. Audience The book will be of great interest to polymer scientists, surface scientists, adhesionists, materials scientists, plastics engineers, and to those involved in adhesive bonding, packaging, printing, painting, metallization, biological adhesion, biomedical devices, and polymer composites.

This book chronicles the proceedings of the 5th and 6th symposia on Metallized Plastics: Fundamental and Applied Aspects, held in May 1996 and September 1997 respectively. This volume contains 29, carefully reviewed, revised and up-dated papers which were presented at both symposia. The book is divided in the following three parts: Metallization Techniques and Properties of Metal Deposits; Spectroscopic Investigation of Interfacial Interactions; Surface Modification and Adhesion Aspects. Topics covered include: various metallization techniques for a variety of plastic substrates and simplification of electroless method by using plasma or UV laser pretreatment; various properties of metal deposits; investigation of metal-polymer interfaces using a variety of spectroscopic techniques; interaction of metals with self-assembled monolayers; study of early stages of metal-polymer interface formation; surface modification of plastics by a host of techniques including plasma, excimer laser, ion beams and characterization of modified plastics surfaces; surface modification of polymers used in the low Earth Orbit space environment; adhesion aspects of metallized plastics including a quantitative adhesion test for metal coated polymer fibers and nondestructive techniques for monitoring metallized plastics adhesion.

This Book's focus and intent is to impart an understanding of the practical application of atmospheric plasma for the advancement of a wide range of current and emerging technologies. The primary key feature of this book is the introduction of over thirteen years of practical experimental evidence of successful surface modifications by atmospheric plasma methods. It offers a handbook-based approach for leveraging and optimizing atmospheric plasma technologies which are currently in commercial use. It also offers a complete treatment of both basic plasma physics and industrial plasma processing with the intention of becoming a primary reference for students and professionals. The reader will learn the mechanisms which control and operate atmospheric plasma technologies and how these technologies can be leveraged to develop in-line continuous processing of a wide variety of substrates. Readers will gain an understanding of specific surface modification effects by atmospheric plasmas, and how to best characterize those modifications to optimize surface cleaning and functionalization for adhesion promotion. The book also features a series of chapters written to address practical surface modification effects of atmospheric plasmas within specific application markets, and a commercially-focused assessment of those effects.