Abstract
The goal of this research was to examine the effect of two surface modification methods, i.e., radiation cross-linking and plasma treatment, on the adhesive properties and the final quality of adhesive bonds of polypropylene (PP), which was chosen as the representative of the polyolefin group. Polymer cross-linking was induced by beta (accelerated electrons—β−) radiation in the following dosages: 33, 66, and 99 kGy. In order to determine the usability of β− radiation for these applications (improving the adhesive properties and adhesiveness of surface layers), the obtained results were compared with values measured on surfaces treated by cold atmospheric-pressure plasma with outputs 2.4, 4, and 8 W. The effects of both methods were compared by several parameters, namely wetting contact angles, free surface energy, and overall strength of adhesive bonds. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were conducted. According to our findings the following conclusion was reached; both tested surface modification methods significantly altered the properties of the specimen’s surface layer, which led to improved wetting, free surface energy, and bond adhesion. Following the β− radiation, the free surface energy of PP rose by 80%, while the strength of the bond grew in some cases by 290% in comparison with the non-treated surface. These results show that when compared with cold plasma treatment the beta radiation appears to be an effective tool capable of improving the adhesive properties and adhesiveness of PP surface layers.
Highlights
In recent years, the use of polymer materials within the engineering fields requiring high technological standards, e.g., aviation and automotive industries, vastly expanded [1,2].The reason for this occurrence could be the numerous advantages, for example low cost and weight, easy processability, and the possibility of recycling, which come with the application of polymer materials such as polyolefins [2,3,4,5,6].Specific applications usually require one solid part, which can consist of individual pieces
The main goal of this work is to compare the effect of the aforementioned technologies on the wetting contact angle, free surface energy, and its polar component and the adhesive properties of the polymer material selected from the group of polyolefins
The comparison of aforementioned surface modification methods was done on specimens prepared from polypropylene that is commercially known as PP V-PTS-CREALENEP2300L1*M800, which was supplied by PTS (Adelshofen, Germany)
Summary
The use of polymer materials within the engineering fields requiring high technological standards, e.g., aviation and automotive industries, vastly expanded [1,2].The reason for this occurrence could be the numerous advantages, for example low cost and weight, easy processability, and the possibility of recycling, which come with the application of polymer materials such as polyolefins [2,3,4,5,6].Specific applications usually require one solid part, which can consist of individual pieces. The use of polymer materials within the engineering fields requiring high technological standards, e.g., aviation and automotive industries, vastly expanded [1,2]. The reason for this occurrence could be the numerous advantages, for example low cost and weight, easy processability, and the possibility of recycling, which come with the application of polymer materials such as polyolefins [2,3,4,5,6]. One of the technologies that can be used to attach one polyolefin to another is adhesion bonding This technology enables a creation of a bond, which provides several specific properties that are unobtainable with any other method. Especially when used with polyolefins, provides the following benefits [5,6,7,8,9,10,11]:
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