Effect of corona treatment on adhesion enhancement of LLDPE

Abstract

Polymers/metal laminates are often used to improve physical and mechanical properties, especially those required in building applications. A flat aluminum composite panel (ACP) consisted mainly of two thin metal sheets usually made of aluminum (Al) and a non-metal core, such as polyethylene (PE). The lack of adhesion associated with the low wettability of PE is a serious problem. An eco-friendly, dry, non-destructive corona treatment technique can be applied to solve this problem. In this work, the use of a corona treatment to enhance the adhesion properties of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) was studied. The changes in surface and adhesion properties were thoroughly analyzed using various analytical techniques and methods to obtain the optimal parameters for corona discharge using contact angle measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM force adhesion measurements were used to analyze the effect of the corona treatment on the adhesion enhancement of LLDPE, and the peel tests confirmed a significant increase in peel resistance in the LLDPE/Al laminate. A synergy effect from using the corona treatment in combination with an ethylene acrylic acid dispersion primer was observed. - 2017 Elsevier B.V.