XPS STUDY OF AL POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTALATE INTERFACE

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy has been used to study the formation of the aluminium/polyethylene terephtalate (Al/PET) interface. On control PET, C1s and O1s exhibits the usual behavior of the PET. An extra C(V)1s appears on Ar+-bombarded PET whilst the C(IV)1s component is decreased by about 10% compared to the control PET. On fluorine-treated PET, the C1s spectra have been decomposed into six different components. After annealing at 500 K, the C1s shows the usual behavior of the PET indicative of a decrease of the fluorine concentration in the polymer surface. Al films up to 64 angstrom were evaporated with a Knudsen cell. The Al/PET interface exhibits the behavior of the layer by layer growth. A preferential aluminum bonding with PET is observed for C(IV)1s. The Al evaporated onto PET presents a complex Al2p peak decomposed into Al(metal) and Al(oxide) component. The ratio Al(metal)/Al(oxide) changes with the PET and the temperature of the PET during Al deposition. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is performed in order to correlate the morphology and the adhesion of the Al film on PET.