Even better, the surface modification did not affect the character of the base material beneath the surface. Bond strength was shown to have improved after such treatment to the extent that failures most often occurred in the unmodified base polymer rather than at the interface. The process was found to be controllable with excellent reproducibility and without any noxious byproducts. Over the past quarter century, the technique of re-engineering polymer surface properties through exposure to a gas plasma has been extended to virtually all polymers. Producible effects run the gamut from highly wettable surfaces exhibiting superior adhesion characteristics and chemical reactivity to completely unwettable, inert surfaces.
Plasma polymerization provides pinhole-free films that adhere tenaciously to the substrate.
Inc. All rights reserved.