5.5.4 Plasma treatment of plastics

Objective:

Plasma treatment is a method for activating plastic surfaces in order to enhance the surface tension and so improve the bonding properties.

Suitability:

Plasma methods (such as low pressure (LP) plasma, atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma and the corona method) are suitable for pretreating all plastics and also many other materials.

Atmospheric pressure (AP) plasma

Source: Fraunhofer IFAM

Procedure:

  • Plasma treatment can be used for cleaning, for activating and for coating plastics
  • Clean the substrates beforehand
  • Plasma treatment is one of the most efficient methods for the surface treatment of substrates prior to adhesive bonding
  • The substrate surface is contacted with active plasma gas under different conditions depending on the method
  • Parameters such as the process gas, distance between the plasma jet and substrate surface and the speed of movement of the plasma jet across the surface are finely varied depending on the method being used, substrate material and the desired results

Points to heed:

  • Clean the substrates beforehand
  • Setting and maintenance of the process parameters