The chemical modifications induced on PET by an excimer laser radiation or a lowpressure plasma were studied by XPS and Tof SIMS analyses. Both treatments induced surface oxidation but differences related to the type of oxidized groups and the level of degradation of the treated surface were evidenced. Both treatments can significantly enhance the adhesion but the surface change responsible for the improvement was different for each pretreatment.

The thermodynamic aspects of the evolution of surface free energy of acrylic acid grafted polyethylene films have been examined as a function of time of contact on water. The dispersive and polar components vary with time and the interfacial free energy reaches a minimal value. Two terms participate in these variations: adsorption of water molecules and reorientation of polar acrylic groups at the water-polymer interface. Irreversible process thermodynamics has been applied to these phenomena. The surface can be characterized by a phenomenological coefficient relating the orientation rate and the orientation affinity of the polar groups at the interface.

Characterization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films surfaces through wettability measurements and inverse gas chromatography techniques leads to a better knowledge of the potential interactions with a coating. An important case is the one relative to gelatin coatings for photographic films. In order to favor adhesion on PET, it is of interest to examine the problem in terms of acid–base interactions. PET is found amphoteric and gelatin rather basic. Several surface treatments on PET like orientation on water and flame or plasma treatment in air lead to an increase in surface acidity. Adhesion with gelatin as determined by the peel test is increased through a flame treatment, because of the higher acidity of PET and subsequent chemical bonding at the interface. Determination of acid-base surface properties of PET and gelatin appears to be an excellent tool for adhesion prediction.

The reorganization of the surface of a polyethylene grafted with 1% acrylic acid during contact with water has been studied using contact-angle measurements, a color test, esterification, inverse gas chromatography and ESCA spectroscopy. The evolution of the surface properties of the polymer in contact with water is explained by movements of the macromolecular chains followed by the orientation at the surface of the acrylic grafts, initially buried in the bulk of the polymer. The concept of “potential” surface energy of a polymer is proposed.

The surface of the bio-material polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was treated with CO₂, Nd:YAG, excimer and high power diode laser (HPDL) radiation. The laser radiation was found to effect varying degrees of change to the wettability characteristics of the material depending upon the laser used. It was observed that interaction with CO₂, Nd:YAG and HPDL effected very little change to wettability characteristics of the PMMA. In contrast, interaction of the PMMA with excimer laser radiation resulted an increase in a marked improvement in the wettability characteristics. After excimer laser treatment the surface O₂ content was found to have increased and the material was seen to be more polar in nature. The work has shown that the wettability characteristics of the PMMA could be controlled and/or modified with laser surface treatment. However, a wavelength dependence of the change of the wetting properties could not be deduced from the findings of this work.

The manufacture of polyolefin films by an extrusion process will today almost certainly include as part of the processing line some form of adhesion promoter. For Cast and Blown extrusion this would mean corona as the adhesion promoter. Often overlooked as being an insignificant component on the manufacturing line, the Corona Treater is often purchased in haste and without adequate deliberation. Without this consideration a capital expenditure may arise that may meet current requirements but offers little or no flexibility for the future. When considering a Corona Treater, first and foremost a choice must be made between Bare Roll and Covered Roll. This paper deals with the decision making process leading up to this determination. We will stress that one should not allow any preconceived notions to cloud the issue on the type of treater station required. Both Bare Roll and Covered Roll treater stations serve a particular purpose and play an integral part in the manufacturing process.

The formation of the interface between aluminium and O₂ or CO₂ plasma-modified poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) has been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As demonstrated by the changes in the C 1s, O 1s, and A1 2p core level spectra upon A1 deposition, the metal was found to react preferentially with the original ester, with the plasma-induced carboxyl and carbonyl groups to form interfacial complexes. The phenyl ring at the modified PET surface was seen to be involved in the formation of the interface, but to a lesser extent. This confirms the high reactivity of the oxygen-containing groups towards the deposited A1 atoms. The adhesion between A1 and the plasma-modified PET films was evaluated by means of a 180° peel test. A considerable (up to ten times) improvement in adhesion was achieved by plasma treatment of the PET substrate, but for either plasma gas the adhesion strength was found to depend strongly on the plasma power and treatment time. The results are discussed in terms of the concentration of oxygen-containing groups at the polymer surface, the surface topography, and the possible presence of low-molecular-weight materials at the metal-polymer interface.

PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) films were modified with two different plasmas, nitrogen and oxygen, as a function of treatment times and RF powers. Firstly, the chemical composition of the plasma-modified PET films was investigated by XPS. In the case of nitrogen plasma, the formation of amine, imine and amide groups is detected. A slight diffusion of nitrogen-containing species into the PET bulk is also observed by angle-resolved XPS measurements. The appearance of alcohol, carbonyl and carboxyl functions is observed in the case of oxygen plasma treatment. After thermal deposition of an aluminium film, peel tests reveal that the Al/PET adhesion increases as follows: untreated < nitrogen plasma < oxygen plasma treatment.

Secondly, after sevderal successive depositions of thermally evaporated Al on oxygen plasma treated PET film, XPS was used to study the chemistry at the interface. The XPS results reveal that the additional reactive sites created on the PET surface by the treatment explain the significant improvement in Al/PET adhesion observed for plasma-modified samples.

Chemical modification of the PET surface by carbon dioxide plasma treatment has been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The plasma process results mainly in the formation of carbonyl, carboxyl, and carbonate groups at the PET surface. Under rather mild treatment conditions (low plasma power combined with a short treatment time), the formation of CO bonds was found to be dominant, whereas the formation of highly oxidized carbon or double-bonded oxygen-containing groups required a high plasma power or a relatively long treatment time. The treatments performed under excessive conditions frequently led to degradation at the polymer surface. Angle-resolved XPS analyses performed on a freshly modified PET film showed a slight decrease in the O/C atomic ratio when the take-off angle (TOA) increased, indicating a relatively uniform distribution of oxygen within the sampling depth (estimated to be about 8 nm at 80° TOA). The chemical composition of the plasma-modified surface was found to be relatively stable on extended storage in air under ambient conditions. The decrease in oxygen-containing groups at the carbon dioxide-plasma-treated PET surface upon ageing is mainly ascribed to the surface rearrangement of macromolecular segments, the loss of oxygen-containing moieties introduced by the plasma treatment, and the possible migration of non-affected PET chains from the bulk to the surface region.

The surface tensions of a series of poly(isobutylenes) in the molecular weight range 400–3000 have been determined at 24°C. These results, together with surface tension values from the literature for poly(dimethyl siloxanes) and three series of different pure chain-molecule homologues, are found to exhibit a linear dependence on (molecular weight)^{$\text{−2}\text{2}$}. A simple free-volume argument seems to be consistent with this empirical observation.

Apparatus for treating the exterior surfaces of plastic objects to improve their adherency to and compatibility with inks and adhesives comprising a pair of electrodes spaced apart from each other, means including a source of electric current of sufficient intensity to produce a spark discharge across the gap between said electrodes, electrical conducting means connecting said electrodes and said source, and means for positioning the objects in the gap between said electrodes, and electrodes being arranged with regard to the size and configuration of the objects to provide a nearly direct electron path around the objects whereby desired portions of the object surfaces may be passed over by the spark discharges during the passage of the latter along said path from electrode to electrode.

The increased use of polyphenylene sulphide (PPS) and polyetheretherketone based composites for aircraft structures has highlighted the need for reliable methods of bonding these materials to metallic components such as titanium. Both composite and titanium adhesive bonds exhibit poor long-term durability when exposed to hot/wet conditions, aerospace fluids and solvents. As a result, surface treatments are employed to enhance surface energy, surface roughness and alter surface chemistry to provide better long-term durability. In this initial study the adhesive bonding of glass fibre reinforced GFR-PPS and commercially pure titanium was investigated. Prior to bonding, both materials were plasma treated using argon and oxygen gases in a RF discharge. Surface characterisation was carried out to optimise these treatments. Surface energy and wettability were examined using contact angle analysis, surface roughness was examined using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, while X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) was employed to study the surface chemistry. Bond strengths were determined using lap shear tests. Initial results reveal that these optimum plasma treatments produce a significant increase in bond strength.

Corona discharge treatment of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) films produces chemical and physical modification of the surface leading to the formation of cavities and bumps. The roughness of the surface increases with the time of treatment and may be detected by scanning electron microscopy for the samples treated above 10 cycles, which corresponds to the duration of the exposure of the film under the electrodes. The degree of chemical modification, producing OH groups, is observed by adsorption of radioactive calcium ions and contact angle measurements. The results of these measurements are discussed and evidence presented shows that increase of the surface density of functional groups up to the value of 0.2 × 10¹⁴ sites/cm² leads to a rapid increase in wettability of PET films.

Surface tension is probably one of the most difficult phenomena to measure. Although a great deal of ingenuity has been spent for almost a century in devising accurate techniques, the figures obtained deviate more from each other for the same substance, according to different authors, than any other constant characterizing the substance. It is well ,known that the two classes of methods of measurement, the static and the dynamic give entirely different results when applied to the same liquid.

Molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out for liquid water between flat hydrophobic surfaces. The surfaces produce density oscillations that extend at least 10 Å into the liquid, and significant molecular orientational preferences that extend at least 7 Å into the liquid. The liquid structure nearest the surface is characterized by “dangling” hydrogen bonds; i.e., a typical water molecule at the surface has one potentially hydrogen‐bonding group oriented toward the hydrophobic surface. This surface arrangement represents a balance between the tendencies of the liquid to maximize the number of hydrogen bonds on the one hand, and to maximize the packing density of the molecules on the other. A detailed analysis shows that the structural properties of the liquid farther from the surface can be understood as effects imposed by this surface structure. These results show that the hydration structure of large hydrophobic surfaces can be very different from that of small hydrophobic molecules.

A new method for preparing wettability gradients on polymer surfaces was developed. Wettability gradients were produced on low density polyethylene surfaces by treating the polymer sheets in air with corona from a knife-type electrode whose power gradually increases along the sample length. The wettability gradient surfaces prepared by the corona discharge treatment were characterized by the measurement of water contact angle, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy in the attenuated total reflectance mode, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The gradient surfaces prepared can be used to systematically investigate the interactions of biological species in terms of the surface hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of polymeric materials.

The morphology of a polyimide film surface is modified from a semicrystalline state to an amorphous state without altering the bulk properties. The outer layer (0.5-25 nm) of fully cured poly(pyromellitic anhydride-oxydianiline) (PMDA-ODA) and poly(biphenyl dianhydride-p-phenylene diamine) (BPDA-PDA) polyimides is chemically modified to polyamic acid, which is subsequently imidized at 230-250°C for 30 min to give a disordered polyimide surface. This disordered layer seems amorphous since it swells well in 1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) and the ions in the modified layer can be easily removed with a solvent such as water or ethanol. The modified surfaces are analyzed by surface-sensitive techniques such as contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ion scattering spectroscopy (ISS), secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), and external reflectance infrared spectroscopy (ERIR). The adhesion of polyimide layers onto the amorphous polyimides is greatly enhanced. Interdiffusion and subsequent mechanical interlocking are the major contributors to the polyimide-polyimide adhesion. The relationship between the depth of modification and the peel strength is studied. The deeper the modification depth, the greater is the peel strength.

In order to functionalize the surface of blown low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and cast polypropylene (CPP) films, and ultimately to maximize the attachment of active molecules onto them, the optimum treatment parameters of capacitively-coupled radio-frequency (13.56 MHz) oxygen plasma were investigated by using contact angle, toluidine blue dye assay, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). Contact angle values of LDPE and CPP samples decreased significantly after oxygen plasma treatment. They further decreased as the plasma power level increased. The treatment time had no substantial effect on contact angle value. The optimum treatment conditions for LDPE and CPP films for maximizing carboxyl functionality without causing observable surface changes were found to be 200 W/200 mTorr and 250 W/50 mTorr, respectively, when treated for 3 min. The maximum carboxyl group concentration obtained with LDPE and CPP films were 0.46 and 0.56 nmol/cm², respectively. The percent of oxygen atoms on the surface of plasma-treated LDPE and CPP films was determined by XPS analysis to be 22.6 and 28.7%, respectively. The ATR-FTIR absorption bands at 1725–1700 cm⁻¹ confirmed the presence of carboxylic acids on LDPE and CPP films. By exposing the plasma-treated sample to air rather than water and treating films repeatedly with oxygen plasma, a higher carboxyl group concentration could be obtained. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/pts.829

The adhesion between a polymer and a solid substrate may be considered to be one type of complex liquid-solid interaction. Relationships between surface wettability and bulk properties of liquidlike polymers are discussed. A new and direct empirical relationship between the glass temperature (T_g) and critical surface tension of a polymer (γ_c) is established:

This study is aimed at understanding the controversy between the surface tension component (STC) theory and the equation of state (EQS) approach for interfacial tensions. We attempt to relate molecular interactions to various components of surface tension. Molecular interactions consist of electrostatic (ES), charge transfer (CT), polarization (PL), exchange-repulsion (EX), dispersion (DIS), and coupling (MIX) components. These interactions can be the basis for the STC theory involving Lifshitz-van der Waals (LW) and the short range acid-base (AB) or donor-acceptor interaction. Each of these components is shown to contain two major parameters. New equations for the interaction energy and surface tension for polar molecules are proposed to include the ES and EX parameters, which happen in some cases to balance each other or nearly cancel out without being detected. The roles of molecular interactions on adhesion, adsorption, contact angle, and wettability are illustrated through the spreading coefficient S, the Hamaker coefficient A, and Derjaguin's disjoining pressure . We have found that the STC theory is applicable to the systems involving either physisorption or chemisorption, whlie the EQS applies to those involving ony physisorption.

The donor—acceptor interaction(1,2) and the acid—base interaction(3) have been reviewed. On many occasions, the two terms, though different, have been used interchangeably to describe the interactions involving the exchange of electrons between a donor and an acceptor. For polymer adhesion, Fowkes(4,5) and Bolger et al. (6) have pointed out the important role of the acid-base interaction in the formation of an adhesive bond.

In 1967, Lee published two papers on adhesion of high polymers^(1,2) on the basis of the Buche—Cashin—Debye equation⁽³⁾

where D is the molecular diffusion constant, η the bulk viscosity, A Avogadro’s number, ρ the density, k Boltzmann’s constant, T the absolute temperature, M the molecular weight, and R ² the mean-square end-to-end distance of a single polymer chain. It was concluded that the physical state of the polymer determines the major adhesion mechanism involved. Polymer adhesion can be subdivided into rubbery polymer-rubbery polymer adhesion (R—R adhesion), rubbery polymer—glassy polymer adhesion (R—G adhesion), and rubbery polymer—nonpolymer—solid adhesion (R—S adhesion). Diffusion, which depends to a great extent on the physical state of a polymer, is actually a limited selective process. Thus, diffusion of rubbery polymers can take place at the interface, but diffusion of a glassy polymer at a viscosity of 10¹³ poise or a diffusion constant of 10^-21 cm²/sec appears to be nearly impossible. On the other hand, physical adsorption is common to all three types of the above adhesion systems.

In this paper, we report our unexpected finding about the correlation between Lewis acid−base surface interaction components and linear solvation energy relationship (LSER) solvatochromic parameters α and β. In 1987, van Oss, Chaudhury, and Good proposed to split the asymmetric acid−base parts of a bipolar system into separate surface tension components:  Lewis acid (electron acceptor) γ⁺ and Lewis base (electron donor) γ^-. It was assumed that the ratio of γ⁺ and γ^- for water at 20 °C was to be 1.0. With that ratio as a reference, the base components, γ^- for other liquids, biopolymers, polymers, and solids appeared to be overestimated. Recently, we unexpectedly found a correlation for liquids between γ⁺ and γ^-, and α (solvent hydrogen-bond-donating ability) and β (solvent hydrogen-bond-accepting ability) introduced since 1976 by Taft and Kamlet. From that correlation, we obtained a more realistic ratio for the normalized α and β values for water at ambient temperature to be 1.8 instead of 1.0. Based on this new ratio, we calculated total surface tensions for related materials at 20 °C. They are generally unchanged as expected, despite the considerable, favorable change in the γ⁺ and γ^- values in the direction of lowering the Lewis basicity. The predicability of solubility with interfacial tension is also unaffected. For example, the sign of those negative interfacial tensions that favor solubility remains the same. In addition, the implications of other LSER parameters, e.g. Π* and δ_H², on surface properties will be briefly mentioned.

We present our new findings about the causes of discrepancies between the measured and calculated liquid-liquid interfacial tensions derived from contact angles. The calculated ones are based on either the equation developed by Fowkes or that by van Oss, Chaudhury and Good (VCG), while the measured ones are based on the sessile drop, weight-volume by Jańzuk et al. and the axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA) by Kwok and Neumann. Indeed, there are deviations between the calculated and measured results. For an immiscible liquid-liquid or liquid-solid interface, we prefer to employ Harkins spreading model, which requires the interfacial tension to be constant. However, for the initially immiscible liquid-liquid pairs, we propose an adsorption model, and our model requires the interfacial tension to be varying and the surface tensions of bulk liquids at a distance from the interface to remain unchanged. Thus, the difference between the initial and final interfacial spreading coefficients (S_i) equals the equilibrium interfacial film pressure (π_i)_e. According to our findings, the calculated interfacial tension represents the initial value (γ₁₂)_o, which differs from the equilibrium value (γ₁₂)_e obtained experimentally after some time delay. This expected gap at a reasonable time frame is chiefly caused by the equilibrium interfacial film pressure between the two liquids. The initial (or calculated) interfacial tension can be positive or negative, while the equilibrium (or measured) one can reach zero. In fact, the former is shown to have more predictive value than the latter. A negative initial interfacial tension is described to favor miscibility or spontaneous emulsification but it tends to revert to zero instantaneously. Thus, a miscible liquid mixture should have zero interfacial tension. In response to recent papers by Kwok et al., we show that the disagreements between the calculated and measured interfacial tensions are definitely not caused by the failure of the VCG approach. Correct interfacial tensions are calculated for liquid pairs containing formamide or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by using the dispersion components cited in Fowkes et al.'s later publication. With the corrected surface tension components, the equilibrium interfacial film pressures (π_i)_e's for at least 34 initially immiscible liquid pairs have been calculated. These values are generally lower than the corresponding spreading pressures π_e's obtained by others using the Harkins model. Recently, we established a relationship between these two film pressures with the Laplace equation and found a new criterion for miscibility to be (π_i)_e = π_e.

A new method to detect surface oxidation of an otherwise untreated, cross-linked and filled silicone rubber is described. Our method is established on the principle that surface wettability increases during the progress of oxidation. Surface wettability is determined in terms of critical surface tension.

Abhesive polymers, of which silicone rubber is a typical example, are characterized by low surface energy, low friction coefficient and low release value. The problem associated with silicone rubber is its poor adhesion to other polymers. Its adhesional ability, however, can be improved by surface modification, e.g. oxidation, treatment with corona discharge, or ionic bombardment with inert gases.

By our method we found that the oxidation of silicone rubber is comparatively mild below 260°C, but is intensified at 287°C. Excessive oxidation at 316°C results in the formation of low molecular weight siloxanes which lower the wettability of the oxidized surface. Mechanisms of thermal oxidation are discussed.

We present our unified Lewis acid–base approach to adhesion and solvation at the liquid-polymer interface. This approach is to complement the original methodologies proposed by Fowkes and by van Oss, Chaudhury and Good (VCG). Intermolecular interactions are primarily dominated by dispersion, d, hydrogen bonding, h, and secondarily affected by orientation, o, and induction, i. Generally, the polarization component, p, represents both i and o interactions. Fowkes suggested that the acid–base component, γ^ab, of the surface tension should consist of both h and p interactions. However, VCG proposed that the acid–base components, γ^ab, result solely from hydrogen bonding, γ^h, that is equivalent to 2(γ⁺ γ⁻)^1/2, where γ⁺ and γ⁻ are the two hydrogen bonding parameters. VCG defined γ^LW as the Lifshitz-van der Waals component consisting of d, o and i contributions, thus, surface tension, γ, equals γ^ab(VCG)+γ^LW. Both Fowkes and VCG assumed that the polar interactions for a liquid on a low energy surface are negligible.

Now, we assume otherwise, and we treat the specific acid-base interaction to be hydrogen bonding. In addition, we also take into account the nonspecific polarization, p, interaction in terms of the equilibrium spreading pressure, π_e, resulting from the adsorption of a liquid vapor on the polymer surface. Thus, our unified approach uses the dispersion component, γ^d, of Fowkes, the hydrogen bonding, h, of VCG and the polarization, p, in terms of π_e. The difference between the initial (theoretical) and equilibrium (experimental) surface tensions is π_e, and others have observed that π_e on some polymers is substantial. The determination of several initial surface tensions of polymers by considering the effect of polarization is discussed.

In the Appendix, we shall illustrate that this polar component, π_e, is equivalent to the LESR polarity-dipolarity parameter, π^e, (represented by the same symbol but in different context) for the solvatochromic treatment. Furthermore, the surface tension components, π^d, γ⁺, γ⁻ and π_e, are now somewhat comparable with the four parameters in the original Taft-Kamlet relationship, δ, α, B, and π^e. Thus, our proposed unified approach may finally help elucidate the long-debated Lewis acid–base theories pertaining to adhesion and solvation of polymers.

In this paper, we briefly discuss several ways to determine the work of adhesion and the requirements for achieving maximum adhesion and spontaneous spreading. Specifically, we will concentrate on the methodology developed by van Oss. Chaudhury and Good [5–7] for the determination of the work of adhesion and interfacial tension. Recently, Good [4] has redefined the surface interaction components γ⁺ and γ⁻ as hydrogen bond acidic and basic parameters. We have related the surface−hydrogen−bond components γ⁺ and γ⁻ to the Taft and Kamlet's [28, 29] linear solvation energy relationship (LSER) solvatochromic α and β parameters. We [8, 9] have found that, for water at ambient temperature, α [hydrogen-bond-donating (HBD) ability] and β [hydrogen-bond-accepting (HBA) ability] are not equal, and the ratio for the normalized α and β is 1.8. This new ratio is assumed to be equal to that of γ⁺ & γ⁻ for water at 20°C. On the basis of the new ratio, we will present our recalculated surface-hydrogen-bond components for several polymers and biomaterials. This change in the ratio did not affect the total surface tension or the sign of the interfacial tension. The net improvement is in the lowering of the γ⁻ values. These data may be useful for predicting the adhesion between an adhesive and an adherend.