Hybrid inorganic-organic functional coatings for injection molding applications

We report on the development of a nanostructured, inorganic-organic hybrid tool coating for functionalizing surfaces of plastic components via replication processes. First, an inorganic TiAlN-coating is deposited in a reactive RF-magnetron process as a carrier of the functional nanostructure. In the second step, the organic top coating is deposited via plasma polymerization of fluor-containing hydrocarbons on top of the hard coating. Investigations were carried out concerning the hybrid coating's morphology, its surface energies and its thermomechanical stability in replication processes. The hybrid coating has been deposited on tools and replicated into polymethylmethacrylate. A significant lowering of the demolding forces in comparison to solely inorganic coatings was observed