Patent ID: 8911878

Claim:
A metal-clad polymer article comprising: (i) a polymeric material which at room temperature in at least one direction has a coefficient of linear thermal expansion at room temperature in the range between 30×10 −6 K −1 ; and 500×10 −6 K −1 ; and (ii) a metallic material having a microstructure which is fine-grained with an average grain size between 2 and 5,000 nm and/or an amorphous microstructure, said metallic material forming a metallic layer and said metallic material having a coefficient of linear thermal expansion at room temperature in all directions of −5.0×10 −6 K −1 and 25×10 −6 K −1 , wherein said metallic material consists essentially of a metal selected from the group consisting of Ag, Al, Au, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mo, Pb, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru, Sn, Ti, W, Zn and Zr or comprises an alloy containing at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Ag, Al, Au, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Mo, Pb, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru, Sn, Ti, W, Zn and Zr; (iii) with or without at least one intermediate layer between the polymeric material and the metallic material layer; (iv) an interface formed between the polymeric material and the metallic material or an interface between the polymeric material and said at least one intermediate layer if present and in interface between said at least one intermediate layer if present and the metallic material, at least one of said interfaces containing an anchoring structure comprising recesses and/or protrusions to increase the interface surface area; and (v) wherein said metal-clad polymer article exhibits a pull-off strength between the polymeric material and the metallic material or a pull-off strength between said at least one intermediate layer if present and the metallic material or a pull-off strength between said at least one intermediate layer if present and the polymeric material exceeding 200 psi as determined by ASTM D4541-02 Method A-E.