Adhesion of polymer coils to a solid surface: influence of the depletion effect

Abstract

The specific properties of polymer coils are often disregarded in theories of adhesion, but polymer properties are essential for the strength of the adhesive bond. Polymer coils are repelled entropically from impenetrable surfaces. This causes the depletion effect and creates a layer of reduced concentration right at the interface. To bond a polymer coil to a substrate, it must be forced actively towards the interface, driven by the gaining of adsorption energy. The adsorption of specific groups in the (co)polymer, which interact with 'polar' sites on the substrate, must be used to suppress the depletion. Adsorption diminishes the effective distance between the surface and the adhesive polymer. The balance between adsorption and depletion (rather than the effect of polar groups or pretreatments on the work of adhesion as such) is the most important chemical possibility of affecting adhesion. The strength of the bond between polymeric materials and solid surfaces varies as H-3, with the effective distance H between the polymer and substrate. Therefore, it changes by an order of magnitude when the polymer adhesive is pulled towards the substrate by adsorption.