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Abstract
Samples of polyethylene and polypropylene have been submitted to repeated short duration (75 ms) flame treatments, at optimum flaming conditions. Surface energies of untreated and flamed specimens were determined by liquid contact angle measurements. It appears that the surface energy of polyethylene increases much more than that of polypropylene after flame treatment. The flamed polymer surfaces were further examined by electron spectroscopy, Fourier Transform IR spectroscopy and secondary ions mass spectrometry. The adhesion properties of modified polymer surfaces were studied by testing in peel the bonded Styrene Butadiene Rubber/polyolefins assemblies. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and water contact angle measurements have been used to observe the locus of failure. Good correlations were obtained between surface energy and adhesion strength, the increase in adhesion strength being particularly important for flamed PE/SBR assemblies. In addition, the peeling in a liquid medium allowed the determination of the respective contribution to adhesion of chemical and physical interactions. It is shown that a major part of the adhesion strength increase is of chemical origin, particularly for the bonded flamed PE/SBR assemblies.