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Epoxy mold adhesion on various plasma-treated thermoplastic polymer surfaces

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Abstract

Polymer substrates tend to have low surface free energy (SFE), which is commonly identified as a root cause of sub-optimal adhesion properties. To overcome this difficulty, polymeric surfaces are commonly treated with various plasma processes. In this work, the effect of four different plasma parameters (gas flow, used gas, treatment time, excitation power) and the time elapsed between the plasma functionalization and the characterization were investigated on five polymeric substrates (PES, PPS, PBT, PK, PA) within a 2n−1 factorial design of experiments (DoE) study. The prepared surfaces were characterized with contact angle measurements (water, diiodomethane), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transfer-molded epoxy adhesion cone tests. The SFE of the prepared surfaces was calculated according to the Owens, Wendt, Rabel, and Kaelble (OWRK) model. In general, both the polar part and the total surface free energy increased, while besides PA, the disperse part either did not change or decreased with the plasma treatment. Regarding the adhesion properties of the treated substrates, significant increment was only observed in the case of PPS compared to the blank sample with the investigated epoxy material. No correlation was observed between either part of the surface free energy and the adhesion properties of the prepared surfaces.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Robert Bosch Hungary Kft, Gyömrői út 104, Budapest, 1103, Hungary

    Jenő Gacs, Zita Vernon, László Kocsis, Zoltán J. Berényi & Erzsébet Sára Bogya

  2. Institute of Electrochemistry, Ulm University, Ulm, Germany

    Timo Jacob

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  1. Jenő Gacs
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  2. Zita Vernon
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  3. László Kocsis
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Gacs, J., Vernon, Z., Kocsis, L. et al. Epoxy mold adhesion on various plasma-treated thermoplastic polymer surfaces. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 120, 4493–4504 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09049-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-09049-8

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