Adhesion Promotion to Polyolefins

Description

The polyolefins polyethylene and polypropylene account for about half of the world’s plastic production. Despite their enormous importance they are difficult to bond. Classical pretreatment to make them bondable includes plasma, corona, or flame activation. Thereby, polar oxygen functionalities are introduced, increasing surface energy. However, those processes have severe drawbacks.

We therefore propose to investigate a novel primer which avoids the shortcomings of the above methods. Photchemically activated reactive molecules, are used to anchor polar polymers on the surface of the polyolefins. Those polymers carry OH functionalities which can react chemically with the isocyanate- or epoxy-based adhesive.

The novelty of the process described in this proposal lies in the use of fluorine-free chemistry, avoiding hazardous compounds.