LAMINATION OF POLYMER FILMS BY BULK SURFACE PHOTOGRAFTING PROCESS AND PROPERTIES

A new process for lamination of polymer films by "bulk surface photografting" has been developed. The chemicalcomponent of the invention is that the curing of reactive solution between two substrates is initiated by the surface freeradicals produced by aromatic ketones and surface-hydrogen of substrates. Using the new approach, two or more polymerfilms are bonded together by a grafted polymer network which is grafted to adjacent substrate surfaces. The technique hasbeen applied to film substrates of different polymers such as polyolefins, polyesters. and polyamides which have abstractablehydrogens at the surface. The photolaminated film composites containing carrier films and an intermediate functional film of low permeability give strong laminates with high barrier properties, e.g. for oxygen and air.