Role of Plasma Surface Treatments on Wetting and Adhesion

There are many current and emerging wetting and adhesion issues which require an additional surface processing to enhance interfacial surface properties. Materials which are non-polar, such as polymers, have low surface energy and therefore typically require surface treatment to promote wetting of inks and coating. One way of increasing surface energy and reactivity is to bombard a polymer surface with atmospheric plasma. When the ionized gas is discharged on the polymer, effects of ablation, crosslinking and activation are produced on its surface. In this paper we will analyse the role of plasma and its use in increasing the surface energy to achieve wettability and improve adhesion of polymeric surfaces.