International.
Printing, coating and bonding plastics requires the surface to be pre-treated. Flame treatment is one way to achieve this so-called activation. It is currently being used in many industrial sectors and has considerable development potential.
Therefore, the Fraunhofer Research Institute for Applied Polymers IAP in Potsdam and the Italian company esse CI are joining their expertise in surface chemistry and machine engineering to clearly expand the opportunities provided by flame treatment and expand the range of surface properties. Interested companies can participate in the development of this technology and help advance its industrialization.
When plastic bumpers were first introduced, they were black because the paint doesn't adhere very well to the surface. Today these plastic components can be easily painted in the color of the car body. All this is due to a change in surface properties. The surface is pre-treated with the help of an electric charge or flame.
During flame treatment, reactive components are formed during the combustion process. This initiates oxidation on the material being treated; However, this oxidation is non-specific and can only be altered in quantity, not in typology. This means that there is considerable room for the development of high-performance optimized applications. Both partners are looking to explore new avenues in llama treatment.
The partners combine Fraunhofer IAP's expertise in surface chemistry with esse CI's know-how in flame treatment. They hope to use the energy of the flame for chemical processes that go beyond simple oxidation. This requires the addition of chemicals to the flame, for example in the form of gases, vapors or aerosols. The studies are carried out in a plastic film processing plant at the Fraunhofer IAP.
"Our goal is to expand the range of functionality and produce bespoke surfaces for special applications. For example, we produce specific functional groups on the surface as reaction partners for reactive adhesives. This allows us to create a high-performance compound with much better adhesion than with normal activation," explains Dr. Andreas Holländer, specialist in surface technologies at the Fraunhofer IAP.
Source: www.iap.fraunhofer.de
