Adhesion of Polytetrafluorethylene modified by an ion beam

Polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) was treated with N+, O+ and C+ ion beams with energies of 20 and 30 keV at 5 mA/ cm(2) current density in the pulse regime. Structural changes were studied by IR ATR, XPS, IR diffuse reflectance spectra and wetting methods. After treatment the PTFE surface became chemically active to isocyanate, acrylamide and epoxy reagents, which caused a change of interface interaction with active adhesives. The durability of the PTFE adhesion joint to an epoxy adhesive increases by more than 100 times. The ion beam treatment can be used to increase adhesion joint durability of PTFE. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.