An overview of surface treatment systems, how they affect the surface, dyne levels, and adhesion.

1. Presented by
Rory A. Wolf
Business Unit Manager
Pillar Technologies
Pillar Technologies
Surface Treatment Webinar Series
© Pillar Technologies 2014
Corona Treatment &
Plasma Treatment
The Opportunities

2. Presentation Agenda
o Overview of Surface Treatment Systems
o What Corona Treatment Does to a Surface
o Understanding Dyne Levels
o Factors that affect Dyne Levels
o What does a Corona Treater do to a Surface?
o Corona-Generated Adhesion
o What does a Plasma Treater do to a Surface?
o Plasma-Generated Adhesion
o Optimizing Surface Treatment Generated Adhesion
Pillar Technologies
Surface Treatment
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3. Overview of
Surface Treatment
Systems
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4.  Polymer surfaces are continuously treated at a wide
range of web speeds
4
Principle of Corona Treatment
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5. Bare Roll Covered Roll Dual Dielectric
Types of Corona Systems
Advantages
 No roll covering to fail
 Ceramic electrodes
 Treats conductive / non-conductive
materials
 All converting applications
Disadvantages
 Roll oxidation requires cleaning
 Requires large volumes of makeup air,
as air is needed to cool the electrodes.
Advantages
 Wide range of roll coverings, metal
electrode
 Designed to treat non-conductive
materials
 Easy to adjust treat width, and lane
treating with segmented electrodes
Disadvantages
 Organic roll coverings can have
short life
 Cannot treat conductive materials
Advantages
 Ceramic roll covering, ceramic
electrode
 Treats conductive / non-
conductive materials
 Higher treat levels
 Even distribution of discharge
 Increased roll surface capacitance.
 Nearly eliminates wrinkling,
pinholes, backside treat
Disadvantages
 None
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Pillar Technologies
Surface Treatment
Webinar Series
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6. Understanding
Dyne Levels
6
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7. Understanding Dyne Level
7
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Surface Treatment
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Liquid/Polymer Total Surface Tension
(mN/m)
Dispersive Component
(mN/m)
Polar Component
(mN//m)
Formamide 58.0 39.0 n/a
Di-iodomethane 50.8 50.8 0.0
Water 72.8 26.4 46.4
Polypropylene 30.1 30.1 0.0
Treated Polypropylene 42.0 30.0 12.0
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8. Factors that affect
Dyne Levels
8
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9. Factors that affect Dyne Levels
9
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Low molecular
weight oxidized
polymeric material
following over-
treatment of BOPP
film
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10. Factors that affect Dyne Levels
Backside Treatment
10
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Surface Treatment
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11. Factors that affect Dyne Levels
Surface Crystallinity
11
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12. Additive Migration Mechanism
Oleamide, Erucamide, Stearamide
12
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13. What does a
Corona treater do
to a surface?
1313
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14. Corona Discharge
14
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15. Corona-Generated
Adhesion
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16. Corona-Generated Adhesion
16
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The formation of polar functional groups and reactive
species is the primary mechanism through which
improved surface characteristics are imparted to films.
Some of these species are:
* Peroxides and ozanides: R[O2]R, ROOH, R[O3]R
* Ions
* Neutral functional groups
* Ozone
* Film surface crosslinking
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17. Excited O2 molecules become
unstable and decompose into
radicals, ions and photons
Discharge creates initiating H,
O, OH and N radicals, which
in turn create ketone,
aldehyde, ether, and carboxyl
groups.
Surface etching and
roughness created by micro-
arcs.
17
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Corona-Generated Adhesion
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18. What does a
Plasma treater do
to a surface?
1818
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19. Polymer Film
Glow Discharge Plasma Source
(Discharge composed of molecules, atoms, ions)
Clean surface w/
dangling bonds
Film Processing Direction
Volatilized,
vaporized
contaminants,
water vapor,
CO, CO2,
unreacted
process gases
Exhaust
Stream
Volatilized,
vaporized
contaminants,
water vapor,
CO, CO2,
unreacted
process gases
Exhaust
Stream
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What does a Plasma Treater do
to a Surface
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20. Plasma-Generated
Adhesion
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21. 21
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Plasma-Generated Adhesion
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22. 22
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Plasma-Generated Adhesion
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Depending on the material to be treated and the nature of the
plasma gas, several mechanisms contribute to adhesion:
 Plasma activation with plasma-forming gases, such as Argon, has a
large mechanical effect, continuously removing single atoms out of
the surface.
 The remaining radical sites are highly reactive and promote the
adhesion of inks, coating and adhesives.
 With oxygen added to the plasma activation process, polymers
receive new surface functionalities which completely reverse the
polarity of materials such as polypropylene.
 After plasma activation, aqueous solutions with high surface tension
spread on the activated surface, showing very small contact angles.
 On base metals, surface oxide layers form within minutes. Plasma
activation with hydrogen-containing plasma gas reduces superficial
oxide layers on which will free the clean, reactive metal surface for
bonding.
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23. Optimizing Surface
Treatment Generated
Adhesion
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24. 24
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Optimizing Surface Treatment
Generated Adhesion
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Mechanical Interlocking
Adsorption
Van der Waals
Interactions/Electrostatic
Diffusion/Interdiffusion
Chemisorption
Adhesion
Cohesion
Adhesion
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25.  Surface energy of a substrate, and particularly polymer
substrates, can be increased by means of both chemical and
physical treatments.
 Surface treatments include:
 Cleaning of the surface by corona, flame or plasma treatments.
 Applying a chemical or coating primer to the surface.
25
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Optimizing Surface Treatment
Generated Adhesion
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26.  There must be molecular entanglement to promote strong
adhesion.
 Surface Treatment promoted wettability, and subsequently
the potential for Entanglement
26
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No entanglement “Nail Adhesion” -
little entanglement
Entanglement
Optimizing Surface Treatment
Generated Adhesion
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Webinar Series
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27. Treatment Recommendations
27
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Surface Treatment
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Polymer Type
Surface free
energy (SFE) at 20
°C in mN/m
Dispersive contrib.
of SFE in mN/m
Polar contrib. of
SFE in mN/m
Polyethylene-linear PE 35.7 35.7 0
Polyethylene-branched PE 35.3 35.3 0
Polypropylene-isotactic PP 30.1 30.1 0
Polyisobutylene PIB 33.6 33.6 0
Polystyrene PS 40.7 -34.5 -6.1
Poly-a-methyl styrene PMS 39 -35 -4
Polyvinyl fluoride PVF 36.7 -31.2 -5.5
Polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF 30.3 -23.3 -7
Polytrifluoroethylene 23.9 19.8 4.1
PTFE 20 18.4 1.6
Polyvinylchloride PVC 41.5 -39.5 -2
Polyvinylidene chloride PVDC 45 -40.5 -4.5
Polychlorotrifluoroethylene PCTrFE 30.9 22.3 8.6
Polyvinylacetate PVA 36.5 25.1 11.4
PMAA 41 29.7 10.3
Polyethylacrylate PEA 37 30.7 6.3
Polymethylmethacrylate PMMA 41.1 29.6 11.5
Polyethylmethacrylate PEMA 35.9 26.9 9
Polybutylmethacrylate PBMA 31.2 26.2 5
Polyisobutylmethacrylate PIBMA 30.9 26.6 4.3
Poly(t-butylmethacrylate) PtBMA 30.4 26.7 3.7
Polyhexylmethacrylate PHMA 30 -27 -3
Polyethyleneoxide PEO 42.9 30.9 12
Polyethyleneterephthalate PET 44.6 -35.6 -9
Polyamide-6,6 PA-66 46.5 -32.5 -14
Polyamide-12 PA-12 40.7 35.9 4.9
Polydimethylsiloxane PDMS 19.8 19 0.8
Polycarbonate PC 34.2 27.7 6.5
Polyetheretherketone PEEK 42.1 36.2 5.9
Target treatment
level will be
predicated on:
1) SFE of the base
substrate
2) SFE of the
adherend (ink,
coating, adhesive)

28. Treatment Recommendations
28
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Surface Treatment
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Application Example:
Material: Cast PP
Expected SFE (untreated): 30.1 mN/m
Requested Treat Level: 46.0 mN/m
Process Line Speed: 200 fpm
# of Sides Treatment 2 Sides
Specified Watt Density: 10 W/ft2/min
Electrode Configuration: SS Segmented
Roll Configuration: Ceramic
Dielectric Constant
Dielectric Strength
(v/Mil) Ozone Resistance Cut Resistance Heat Dissipation
Hypalon 5 to 6 400 Good Poor Fair
Epoxy 3 to 4 450 Good Excellent Fair
Silicone 4 to 5 450 Good Poor Good-Exc.
Bonded Silicone 3 to 5 450 Good Poor Good-Exc.
Ceramic 8 to 10 500 Excellent Excellent Excellent
Glass 7 to 8 500 Excellent Excellent Excellent
Porosity Field Reparability
Max. Cont. Service
Temp. (F)
Hardness (Shore
A) Cost
Hypalon Excellent Fair 150-300 60-90 Low
Epoxy Good Excellent 190-250 70-80 Low
Silicone Excellent Fair 250 60-90 Medium
Bonded Silicone Excellent Fair 350 60-70 Medium
Ceramic Good Fair 350 (55 Rockwell C) Medium-High
Glass Excellent Poor 800 (50 Rockwell C) High

29. Pillar Technologies
Surface Treatment Webinar Series
© Pillar Technologies 2014
Corona Treatment vs
Plasma Treatment
Rory A. Wolf
Business Unit Manager
262.912.7212
rwolf@pillartech.com