Surface modification of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and oxide coated PET for adhesion improvement

Polymer webs get more and more coated with organic and oxide layers to expand the range of applications. Those hybrid material combinations do not only represent a wide field for academic research, but also offer the opportunity for developing new innovative industrial products, such as high permeation barrier systems for flexible electronics. The lifetime of diverse material multilayer-systems (oxide/organic) is mainly determined by the adhesion between its layers. In this work, a low pressure plasma treatment was used and its impact on wetting behavior and adhesion was tested. For this purpose contact angle and pull-off measurements were performed. For further proof of the suitability for high permeation barrier multilayer systems UV-VIS and permeation barrier measurements were accomplished.