Effect of atmospheric-pressure plasma on adhesion characteristics of polyimide film

In this work, the effect of atmospheric-pressure plasma treatments on surface properties of polyimide film are investigated in terms of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angles, and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The adhesion characteristics of the film are also studied in the peel strengths of polyimide/copper film. As experimental results, the polyimide surfaces treated by plasma lead to an increase of oxygen-containing functional groups or the polar component of the surface free energy, resulting in improving the adhesion characteristics of the polyimide/copper foil. Also, the roughness of the film surfaces, confirmed by AFM observation, is largely increased. These results can be explained by the fact that the atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment of polyimide surface yields several oxygen complexes in hydrophobic surfaces, which can play an important role in increasing the surface polarity, wettability, and the adhesion characteristics of the polyimide/copper system.     

A study of the adhesion of copper to polyimide foils using surface analytical techniques

Summary The adhesion of chemically and electrochemically deposited copper films on commercial polyimide foils has been studied using scanning electron microscopy, photoelectron spectroscopy, EDX and IR reflection-absorption spectroscopy. Experiments have been carried out on the bare surface and the deposited layers as well as on surfaces prepared by peeling off the deposits. The results show that, at least for the case considered here, poor adhesion is caused by cohesion failure in the foil itself, and that a thin surface layer of the polyimide foil is important for the interface bond. IR spectroscopy was used to study the molecular nature of this surface layer.

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Untersuchung der Adhäsion von Kupfer an Polyimidfolien mit Hilfe von oberflächenanalytischen Verfahren

     

The quartz crystal microbalance: a new tool for the investigation of the bioadhesion of diatoms to surfaces of differing surface energies

Diatoms are a major component of the biofoul layer found on modern low-surface-energy, 'foul release' coatings. While diatoms adhere more strongly to hydrophobic, as opposed to hydrophilic, surfaces, surprisingly little is known of the chemical composition of their adhesives. Even less is known about the underlying processes that characterize the interaction between the adhesive and a given surface, including those of differing wettability. Using the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), we examined differences in the viscoelastic properties of the extracellular adhesives produced by the marine diatoms Amphora coffeaeformis Cleve and Craspedostauros australis Cox interacting with surfaces of differing wettability; 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) that is hydrophilic and 1-undecanethiol (UDT) that is hydrophobic. While the overall delta f/delta D ratios were slightly different, the trends were the same for both diatom species, with the layer secreted upon UDT to be more viscoelastic and far more consistent over several experiments, compared to that on MUA which was less viscoelastic and demonstrated far more variability between experiments. While the nature of the parameter shifts for C. australis were the same for both surfaces, A. coffeaeformis cells settling upon UDT illustrated significant positive f and D shifts during the initial stages of cell settlement and adhesion to the surface. Further experiments revealed the parameter shifts to occur only during the initial adhesion of cells upon the pristine virgin UDT surface. The mechanism behind these parameter responses was isolated to the actin-myosin/adhesion complex (AC), using the myosin inhibitor 2,3-butanedione 2-monoxime (BDM) to remove the cells ability to 'pull' on adhesive strands emanating from the cell raphe. The observations made herein have revealed that adhesives secreted by fouling diatoms differ significantly in their interaction with surfaces depending on their wettability, as well as illustrating the unique mechanics behind the adhesion of A. coffeaeformis upon hydrophobic surfaces, a mechanism that may contribute significantly to the cells success in colonizing hydrophobic surfaces.     

Plasma polymerization and deposition of glycidyl methacrylate on Si(100) surface for adhesion improvement with polyimide

Thin polymer films were deposited on Si(100) surfaces by plasma polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) under different glow discharge conditions. The FT‐IR, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and amine treatment results suggested that the epoxide functional groups of the deposited films had been preserved to various extents, depending on the plasma deposition conditions. The use of a low radio frequency power (～ 5 W) and a relatively high system pressure (100–400 Pa) readily resulted in the deposition of thin films having nearly the same composition of the epoxide functional groups as that of the GMA homopolymer. The plasma‐polymerized GMA (PP‐GMA) thin films deposited on the Ar plasma‐pretreated Si(100) surfaces were retained to a large extent after acetone extraction, suggesting the presence of covalent bonding between the PP‐GMA layer and the Si surface. Thermal imidization of the poly(amic acid) precursor of polyimide on the GMA plasma‐polymerized Si(100) surface resulted in a strongly adhered polyimide film. The adhesion results further suggested that the GMA polymer had been grafted on the Si(100) surface and the epoxide functional groups had undergone reactive interaction (curing) with the carboxylic and amine groups of the poly(amic acid) during thermal imidization. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contribution of relaxation processes to adhesive-joint strength of viscoelastic polymers

Relaxation processes accompany all stages of the lifetime of viscoelastic pressure-sensitive polymer adhesives, which can form strong adhesive joints with substrates of various chemical natures under application of a slight external pressure to the adhesive film for a few seconds. This review deals with comparison of the adhesion and relaxation properties of a number of typical pressure-sensitive adhesives based on polyisobutylene, butyl rubber, styrene-isoprene-styrene triblock copolymers, alkyl acrylate copolymers, and silicone adhesives as well as pressure-sensitive adhesives based on blends of high-molecular-mass polyvinylpyrrolidone with oligomeric poly(ethylene glycol). Within all three stages of the lifetime of adhesive joints (under adhesive-bond-forming pressure, upon withdrawal of contact pressure in the course of relaxation of the adhesive material, and under the force detaching an adhesive film from the substrate surface), the strength of adhesive joints has been shown to be controlled by large-scale relaxation processes, which are characterized by long relaxation times in the range 150–800 s. All examined pressure-sensitive adhesives can be arbitrarily divided into two groups. The first group is composed of fluid adhesives that relax comparatively fast and exhibit no residual (unrelaxed) stress. The second group includes elastic adhesives capable storing mechanical energy in the course of deformation that are characterized by appreciably longer relaxation times and display residual stress after relaxation. Conditions of adhesive debonding (e.g., strain amplitude and deformation velocity) significantly affect the relaxation process.     

Application of adhesion coats and systems of surface modification during gluing

Technologies of preparation for gluing of surfaces from aluminum, beryllium alloys, porous materials (glass-fiber plastics and heat-protective materials), and technologies of polyimide film, rubber, and fabric gluing are described. It is shown that the application of epoxy primer, phosphatizing (mordant) coat, VK-32-200 and VK-25 phenolic-elastomer adhesives, and adhesive sublayers and primers allows one to preserve the activity of the preliminary treated adherent surface. The modification of polypropylene and polyester fiber surfaces by the coupling agents based on silanes with the aim to improve the nonwoven fabric properties is considered.     

Electroless deposition of nickel on fluoropolymers modified by surface graft copolymerization

Surface modification of Ar plasma-pretreated poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films via UV-induced graft copolymerization with 4-vinylpyridine (4VP), 2-vinylpyridine (2VP) or 1-vinylimidazole (VIDz) was carried out. Electroless deposition of nickel could be carried out on these graft-modified fluoropolymer surfaces after PdCl₂ activation. The surface compositions of the graft-modified films were studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The adhesion strength between the surface graft-copolymerized fluoropolymer film and the electrolessly deposited nickel was affected by the type of monomers used for graft copolymerization and the graft concentration. The optimum T-peel adhesion strengths of the electrolessly deposited Ni on the 4VP graft-copolymerized PTFE and PVDF surfaces were about 7 and 13 N/cm, respectively. The metal/fluoropolymer assemblies delaminated by cohesive failure inside the fluoropolymer substrates. The enhanced adhesion between the electrolessly deposited Ni and the surface-modified fluoropolymers is attributable to the interfacial charge transfer interactions between the grafted polymer chains and the deposited metals (Pd and Ni), the spatial distribution of the graft chains into the metal matrix and the covalent tethering of the graft chains on the fluoropolymer surface.     

Pretilt angle of liquid crystals and liquid-crystal alignment on microgrooved polyimide surfaces fabricated by soft embossing method

In this study, the soft embossing method is proposed to fabricate periodical microgrooved structure on polyimide surfaces. These microgrooved polyimide surfaces are assembled to form liquid-crystal cells. It is found that the director of liquid crystals uniformly aligns along the groove direction even when the groove width is as high as 3 microm. The anchoring energy of these microgrooved polyimide surfaces is higher than that of the typical rubbed surfaces. The pretilt angle of liquid crystals is adjusted by tuning the surface polarity of the polyimide alignment layer, which is identified by the advancing contact angle of water. The surface polarity of polyimide alignment layers is manipulated by simply mixing two kinds of polyimide: a more hydrophilic one and a more hydrophobic one. It is found that the pretilt angle of liquid crystals increases along with the advancing contact angle of water on the alignment layer under the condition of a fixed surface topography.     

Preparation and adhesion of ultrathin polyimide films on polycrystalline silver

4.4-oxydianiline (ODA) and 1,2,3,5-benzenetetracarboxylic anhydride (PMDA) were deposited from the vapor phase onto a polycrystalline silver substrate and polymerization of the two components to form ultrathin polyimide films (d≈ 11 Å) was followed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Both PMDA and ODA chemisorb on the clean surface under partial fragmentation. Co-deposition of ODA and PMDA followed by heating of the substrate led to formation of thermally stable (T<450°C) polyimide films. Our data indicate that adhesion of the polyimide film to the surface involves chemical bonding to fragmented PMDA and/or ODA chemisorbed on the substrate. Our experiments show that polyimide films can be prepared sufficiently thin to allow the application of surface sensitive techniques to probe the substrate-polymer interface and to study the basic physics and chemistry of adhesion.     

Mechanical properties degradation of polyimide films irradiated by atomic oxygen

Mechanical properties of polyimide films are degraded by exposure to a low earth orbit environment. The main environmental factor for that degradation is atomic oxygen (AO). Using tensile tests, AO-irradiated surface topography observations, and fracture surface analyses, this study investigated the degradation behavior of polyimide films’ mechanical properties by increased AO fluence and its accompanying degradation mechanisms. Tensile strength and elongation of polyimide films were reduced concomitantly with increased AO fluence. Furthermore, AO-irradiated polyimide films fractured from the AO-irradiated surfaces, of which roughness became marked as AO fluence increased. These results reflect that reduction of mechanical properties is attributable to the roughness increase in AO-irradiated surfaces. Polyimide films coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) were also evaluated to confirm the degradation behavior of AO protective films. Surfaces of ITO-coated polyimide films remained smooth even after AO irradiation. However, undercut cavities were formed at ITO coating defect sites. Rupture of ITO-coated polyimide films initiates from the undercut cavities, engendering large reduction of tensile strength and elongation. The degradation of the mechanical properties of ITO-coated polyimide films increased substantially until the undercut cavities fully penetrated the film.     

Surface films and metallurgy related to lubrication and wear

The nature of the tribological surface is identified and characterized with respect to adhesion, friction, wear, and lubricating properties. Surface analysis is used to identify the role of environmental constituents on tribological behavior. The effect of solid to solid interactions for metals in contact with metals, ceramics, semiconductors, carbons, and polymers is discussed. The data presented indicate that the tribological surface is markedly different than an ideal solid surface. The environment is shown to affect strongly the behavior of two solids in contact. In certain instances, the environment can dominate surface characteristics. With metals in contact with metals, adhesion is found to be related to the cohesive binding energy. Strong adhesive bonding occurs for metals in contact with ceramics, semiconductors, carbons, and polymers. Bond strength at the interface is, with some exceptions, stronger than the bond strength of the cohesively weaker of the two materials. Many different surface properties of metals and alloys influence tribological performance. These include (1) surface energy, (2) crystallographic orientation, (3) amorphous versus the crystalline state, (4) grain boundaries, (5) texturing of the surface, (6) crystal structure, and (7) order-disorder transformations. At sufficiently high loads or sliding velocities, metals or alloy surfaces are shown to undergo recrystallization effecting tribological properties. The chemical valency, d-valence-bond characteristics, of metal surfaces affect adhesion, friction, and wear. The greater the percent d-bond character, the lower the friction and wear. The ideal tensile and shear strengths of simple transition metals correlate with friction coefficients. Results presented also show that small amounts of alloying elements in base metals can alter markedly adhesion, friction, and wear by segregating to the solid surface.     

Effect of viscoelasticity on adhesion of bioinspired micropatterned epoxy surfaces

The effect of viscoelasticity on adhesion was investigated for micropatterned epoxy surfaces and compared to nonpatterned surfaces. A two-component epoxy system was used to produce epoxy compositions with different viscoelastic properties. Pillar arrays with flat punch tip geometries were fabricated with a two-step soft lithography process. Adhesion properties were measured with a home-built adhesion tester using a spherical sapphire probe as a counter-surface. Compared to flat controls, micropatterned epoxy samples with low viscoelasticity (i.e., low damping factors) showed at least a 20-fold reduction in pull-off force per actual contact area for both low (E' = 2.3 MPa) and high (E' = 2.3 GPa) storage moduli. This antiadhesive behavior may result from poor contact formation and indicates that the adhesion performance of commonly used elastomers for dry adhesives (e.g., polydimethylsiloxane) is governed by the interfacial viscoelasticity. Adhesion significantly increased with increasing viscoelasticity. Micropatterned samples with high viscoelasticity showed a 4-fold reduction in adhesion for aspect ratio (AR) 1.1 patterns but a 2-fold enhancement in adhesion for AR 2.2 patterns. These results indicate that viscoelasticity can enhance the effect of surface patterning on adhesion and should be considered as a significant parameter in the design of artificial patterned adhesives.     

Calcium and magnesium cations enhance the adhesion of motile and nonmotile pseudomonas aeruginosa on alginate films

We investigated the impact of calcium and magnesium ions on the deposition kinetics of flagellated and nonflagellated Pseudomonas aeruginosa onto an alginate conditioning film in a radial stagnation point flow system. The bacterial deposition/adhesion behavior was related to structural changes of the alginate film in the presence of the divalent cations. Our results showed that adhesion of nonmotile bacteria was governed by cation bridging interactions between high-affinity sites at the bacterial surface and either clean or alginate-conditioned substrate surfaces. For motile bacteria, the adhesion onto clean quartz was governed by electrostatic interactions while adhesion onto alginate-conditioned quartz was dependent on the structure and viscoelastic properties of the alginate film in the presence of calcium or magnesium. We demonstrate that bacterial adhesion behavior is governed both by the effects of divalent cations on the surface properties of the bacteria and the substrate and by the type of specific interactions occurring between these two surfaces.     

Friction and Adhesion of Gecko-Inspired PDMS Flaps on Rough Surfaces

Geckos have developed a unique hierarchical structure to maintain climbing ability on surfaces with different roughness, one of the extremely important parameters that affect the friction and adhesion forces between two surfaces. Although much attention has been paid on fabricating various structures that mimic the hierarchical structure of a gecko foot, yet no systematic effort, in experiment or theory, has been made to quantify the effect of surface roughness on the performance of the fabricated structures that mimic the hierarchical structure of geckos. Using a modified surface forces apparatus (SFA), we measured the adhesion and friction forces between microfabricated tilted PDMS flaps and optically smooth SiO(2) and rough SiO(2) surfaces created by plasma etching. Anisotropic adhesion and friction forces were measured when sliding the top glass surface along (+y) and against (-y) the tilted direction of the flaps. Increasing the surface roughness first increased the adhesion and friction forces measured between the flaps and the rough surface due to topological matching of the two surfaces but then led to a rapid decrease in both of these forces. Our results demonstrate that the surface roughness significantly affects the performance of gecko mimetic adhesives and that different surface textures can either increase or decrease the adhesion and friction forces of the fabricated adhesives.     

Interfacial interactions and the polymer/polyurethane bond

Lap shear measurements of adhesion in joints of polymers bonded with polyurethane adhesives varied significantly with time at elevated temperature. The effect has been linked with the ability of polyurethane molecules to restructure in response to the orienting strength of substrate surfaces, as defined by their non-dispersive surface energy component. Acid/base interactions at the polymer/adhesive interface further affect the bond strength, increasing this important property when acid/base pairs are located at the interface, and diminishing the variable when acid/base interactions are absent.     

Study of the properties and structure of polyimide and bilayer fluoropolyimide films after space exposure on the Mir space station

Results of examination of bilayer polyimide and fluorinated polyimide films after their exposure to outer space on the Mir space station are reported. The polyimide films were screened by quartz plates during exposure. An increase in the surface energy and the work of adhesion indicate substantial hydrophilization of the open surface, as well as slight hydrophilization of the screened film surface. A difference in values of the surface energy and work of adhesion depending on the orientation of a sample relative to the direction of motion of the space station indicates that the surface properties of the outer surface of the unscreened film became anisotropic in character, with the anisotropy axis being aligned with the direction of motion of the spacecraft. The fact that the outer surface of the film has acquired anisotropic properties is corroborated by the results of study of scanning electron microscopic images and polar plots of brightness. The hydrophilization of the films indicates an increase in the concentration of polar groups. In the space environment, the degradation of the fluoropolymer surface layer and its removal under high-vacuum conditions take place. For the quartz-shielded polyimide films, the surface energy and the work of adhesion remained practically the same as for the unexposed films. It was concluded that solar radiation (μ > 200 nm) does not cause a significant decline in the properties of the polyimide film.     

Characterization of polymer materials exposed at the Mir orbital space station

The results of studies of polyimide and fluoropolymer films after a prolonged exposure at the Mir orbital space station are reported. The weight loss of external polyimide films was ～40–60%; the weight of FEP-100A fluoropolymer films remained unchanged, and the weight of F-4MB films increased by ～50%. The external and internal surfaces of polyimide films were hydrophilized. The external surface of a polyimide film acquired anisotropic properties, which manifested themselves as the shape anisotropy of liquid drops, the surface tension and the work of adhesion, the light scattering circular diagrams, and in the formation of spatially oriented fractal structures. The appearance of anisotropic properties is a consequence of the arrangement of a film on the station surface at an angle to the flow of atomic oxygen. The possible reactions of fast and scattered oxygen atoms, which are responsible for the chemical and structural transformations of polyimide, are discussed.     

Preparation and Study of New Metal-Containing Polymer Compositions Based on an Alicyclic Polyimide

New film-forming metal-containing polymer compositions based on an alicyclic polyimide and on arylalicyclic copolyimides synthesized from tricyclodecene-, oxydiphenyl-, and benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydrides and oxydianiline in the presence of cobalt, nickel, iron, and copper salts in amide solvents were prepared, and their main properties were studied. Optimum synthesis conditions and compositions of metalcontaining composites with improved thermal, electrical, and other characteristics were found. The possibility of using the modified alicyclic polyimide films for fabricating integrated circuits by magnetron sputtering was examined. The samples prepared by sputtering of metals onto SPI-1 polyimide films with a chromium sublayer are characterized by high adhesion of the metal to the film surface.     

Thin metal films on quasicrystalline surfaces

Thin metal films with a thickness of one or over one monolayer formed on quasicrystalline surfaces were studied using reflection high-energy electron diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. The substrates were the 10f surface of d-Al–Ni–Co and the 5f surface of i-Al–Pd–Mn. The metals deposited were Au, Pt, Ag and In. None of these metals forms any ordered layer by deposition onto clean quasicrystalline surfaces. However, if a submonolayer of In is present atop the 10f surface, an epitaxial layer of multiply-twinned AuAl₂ crystals is formed by Au deposition and subsequent annealing. This is also the case for Pt deposition, but not for Ag deposition. Although the surfactant effect of In is also observed in the case of Au deposition on the 5f surface of i-Al–Pd–Mn, the ordered layer formed is a film of Au–Al alloy with icosahedral symmetry. No ordered films are formed by Pt or Ag deposition onto the 5f surface, regardless of the presence of an In-precovered layer. A Sn film monolayer induced by surface diffusion was also studied.     

Sol–gel titania coating on unmodified and surface-modified polyimide films

Sol–gel coating of metal oxides on polymer substrates is a useful process to fabricate various organic–inorganic hybrid materials under mild conditions. However, this process is hardly applicable to pristine polyimide (PI) films because their surfaces do not display effective functional groups for metal oxide coatings. In this study, we firstly examined direct sol–gel coating of titania thin layers on unmodified PI film surfaces. The results confirmed homogeneous, ultrathin titania layer coating and showed that the thickness and microscopic morphology of the titania layers were affected by titanium alkoxide concentrations in the spin coating solutions. We next investigated titania layer coating on surface-modified PI films that prepared using alkaline hydrolysis, which generated carboxylic acid groups on the film surfaces. Optimal hydrolysis time was determined using FT-IR spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. After sol–gel titania coating on the hydrolyzed PI film surfaces, the Scotch tape test was conducted to evaluate adhesion strength between the titania layers and PI film surfaces. Morphological observations of the sample surfaces after the tests clearly showed that surface modification of PI films increased titania layer adhesions. Effect of hydrothermal treatments on film formability and adhesion strength between titania-PI film interfaces was also evaluated.