skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Improvement of PET surface hydrophilicity and roughness through blending

Journal Article · · AIP Conference Proceedings
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4918391· OSTI ID:22391847
; ;  [1]
  1. CREPEC, Chemical Engineering Department, Polytechnique Montreal, 2500 chemin de Polytechnique, Quebec, Montreal (Canada)

Controlling the adhesion of the polymer surface is a key issue in surface science, since polymers have been a commonly used material for many years. The surface modification in this study includes two different aspects. One is to enhance the hydrophilicity and the other is to create the roughness on the PET film surface. In this study we developed a novel and simple approach to modify polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film surface through polymer blending in twin-screw extruder. One example described in the study uses polyethylene glycol (PEG) in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) host to modify a PET film surface. Low content of polystyrene (PS) as a third component was used in the system to increase the rate of migration of PEG to the surface of the film. Surface enrichment of PEG was observed at the polymer/air interface of the polymer film containing PET-PEG-PS whereas for the PET-PEG binary blend more PEG was distributed within the bulk of the sample. Furthermore, a novel method to create roughness at the PET film surface was proposed. In order to roughen the surface of PET film, a small amount of PKHH phenoxy resin to change PS/PET interfacial tension was used. The compatibility effect of PKHH causes the formation of smaller PS droplets, which were able to migrate more easily through PET matrix. Consequently, resulting in a locally elevated concentration of PS near the surface of the film. The local concentration of PS eventually reached a level where a co-continuous morphology occurred, resulting in theinstabilities on the surface of the film.

OSTI ID:
22391847
Journal Information:
AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1664, Issue 1; Conference: PPS-30: 30. International Conference of the Polymer Processing Society, Cleveland, OH (United States), 6-12 Jun 2014; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English