Knowledge Articles
Plasma Treatment of PEEK for Biomedical Applications
Plasma Treatment of PEEK for Biomedical Applications
Plasma cleaning of silicon substrates for spin coating of nano-polymer films
Plasma cleaning of silicon substrates for spin coating of nano-polymer films
Plasma cleaning & activation of Intraocular Lenses
Plasma cleaning and activation of Intraocular Lens (IOL) materials prior to spin coating with 2D transition metal carbides
Irreversibly Plasma-Bonded PDMS Microfluidic Devices
Irreversibly Plasma-Bonded PDMS Microfluidic Devices
Let’s Talk About… Measuring Surface Energy
What is surface energy and why is it important?
In this ‘Let’s talk About…’ article we discuss the measurement of surface energy and ultimately, how plasma treatment can be used to alter surface energy in order to improve adhesion and bonding.
Materials Library - Aluminium
Although most metals exhibit high surface energies, the absorption of water vapour and especially organic particulate matter from the environment results in an invisible layer of contamination of low surface energy. This layer is effectively and efficiently removed by plasma cleaning, resulting in greatly increased wettability and much improved adhesion characteristics.
National Graphene Institute (NGI) Research features Henniker HPT-100 Plasma Cleaner
Hybrid molecular/mineral lyotropic liquid crystal systems from Graphene Oxide.
Materials Library - Carbon Fibre
Carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) are formed using both thermoplastic and thermoset polymers and typically exhibit low surface energy and poor bonding characteristics. Plasma treatment significantly increases the surface energy of CFRPs resulting in much elevated bond strengths.
Materials Library - Nylon
The majority of common engineering polymers have inherently low surface energy and therefore exhibit poor adhesion characteristics. Plasma treatment offers a reliable and environmentally friendly method of both cleaning and activating the polymer surface, increasing the surface energy and wettability, resulting in greatly improved adhesion characteristics.
