Abstract
AbstractA study was undertaken to address the effect of using different active gases during the atmospheric plasma treatment of composite specimens for adhesive bonding. The effect of using oxygen, carbon dioxide, or carbon monoxide on the surface chemistry, morphology, and mechanical properties of cyanate ester composites was investigated. CO treatment resulted in a surface profile that could be tailored to create an oxygen/carbon ratio as high as 0.71 with a negligible degree of polymer degradation as verified by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy. On the other hand, CO2 and O2 treatments resulted in a fairly high degree of chain scission and degradation using otherwise similar treatment conditions. However, significant bond strength improvement (>75%) over conventional abrasion surface preparation techniques was achieved for all three types of gases. XPS of CO‐treated specimens showed a large increase in carbonyl species formation in comparison with the weakly bonded carbonates (ash) formed when treating the same composites with CO2 and O2 gas suggesting a different mechanism. These results present a method by which sensitive carbon‐based, hydrophobic surfaces can be modified without damaging the underlying substrate as well as improving bond performance over conventional surface preparation methods. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012
Published Version
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