Adhesion of microwave-plasma-treated fluoropolymers to thermoset vinylester

✍ Scribed by M. S. Hedenqvist; A. Merveille; K. Odelius; A.-C. Albertsson; G. Bergman

• Book ID: 101590705
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 128 KB
• Volume: 98
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/app.22174

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Poly(tetrafluoroethylene) and a fluoroethylene copolymer were surface treated with a 2.45‐GHz microwave plasma to enhance their adhesion to a vinylester thermoset. The plasmas were generated with an inert gas (Ar) and with reactive gases (H~2~, O~2~, and N~2~). The lap‐joint shear stress was measured on fluoropolymer samples glued with the vinylester. In general, the stress at failure increased with increasing plasma‐energy dose. The H~2~ plasma yielded the best adhesion, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that it yielded the highest degree of defluorination of the fluoropolymer surface. The defluorination efficiency declined in the order H~2~, Ar, O~2~, and N~2~. Contact angle measurements and scanning electron microscopy revealed that the surface roughness of the fluoropolymer depended on the rate of achieving the target energy dose. High power led to a smoother surface, probably because of a greater increase in temperature and partial melting. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 838–842, 2005