Polymer surface metallization

Plasma Enhancement of Adhesion of Polymer Surfaces Metallization of Polymer Surfaces... 

Madey and co-workers followed the reduction of titanium with XPS during the deposition of metal overlayers on TiOi [87]. This shows the reduction of surface TiOj molecules on adsorption of reactive metals. Film growth is readily monitored by the disappearance of the XPS signal from the underlying surface [88, 89]. This approach can be applied to polymer surfaces [90] and to determine the thickness of polymer layers on metals [91]. Because it is often used for chemical analysis, the method is sometimes referred to as electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). Since x-rays are very penetrating, a grazing incidence angle is often used to emphasize the contribution from the surface atoms. 

Thermal Quenching. Endothermic degradation of the flame retardant results in thermal quenching. The polymer surface temperature is lowered and the rate of pyrolysis is decreased. Metal hydroxides and carbonates act in this way. 

Metal deposition onto polymers microfibrous metal surfaces... 

Wool [32] has considered the fractal nature of polymer-metal and of polymer-polymer surfaces. He argues that diffusion processes often lead to fractal interfaces. Although the concentration profile varies smoothly with the dimension of depth, the interface, considered in two or three dimensions is extremely rough [72]. Theoretical predictions, supported by practical measurements, suggest that the two-dimensional profile through such a surface is a self-similar fractal, that is one which appears similar at all scales of magnification. Interfaces of this kind can occur in polymer-polymer and in polymer-metal systems. 

Packham, D.E., The adhesion of polymers to metals the role of surface topography. In Mittal, K.L. (Ed.), Adhesion Aspects of Polymeric Coatings. Plenum, London, 1983, p. 19. 

In the many reports on photoelectron spectroscopy, studies on the interface formation between PPVs and metals, focus mainly on the two most commonly used top electrode metals in polymer light emitting device structures, namely aluminum [55-62] and calcium [62-67]. Other metals studied include chromium [55, 68], gold [69], nickel [69], sodium [70, 71], and rubidium [72], For the cases of nickel, gold, and chromium deposited on top of the polymer surfaces, interactions with the polymers are reported [55, 68]. In the case of the interface between PPV on top of metallic chromium, however, no interaction with the polymer was detected [55]. The results concerning the interaction between chromium and PPV indicates two different effects, namely the polymer-on-metal versus the metal-on-polymer interface formation. Next, the PPV interface formation with aluminum and calcium will be discussed in more detail. 

X-ray reflectometry (XR) has already been described in Sect. 2.1 as a technique for polymer surface investigations. If a suitable contrast between components is present buried interfaces may also be investigated (Fig. 4d) [44,61,62]. The contrast is determined by the difference in electron density between materials. It is, in the case of interfaces between polymers, only achieved if one component contains heavy atoms (chlorine, bromine, metals, etc.). Alternatively the location of the interface may be determined by the deposition of heavy markers at the interface. 

The common polymers are composed of a small number of elements whose XP spectra are simple (generally C Is plus one or two peaks from Ols, Nls, FIs and Cl 2s, 2p). Common contaminants contain additional elements such as S, P, Si, A1 and heavy metals, and the presence of these elements, even in low concentrations, can be detected very easily. Polymer surface modification is an area in which XPS has been fruitfully applied, notably in the study of commercial pretreatments aimed at improving wettability and general adhesion characteristics. 

For homopolyelectrolyte, we first studied the ellipsometric measurement of the adsorption of sodium poly(acrylate) onto a platinum plate as a function of added sodium bromide concentration (5). We measured the effect of electrolyte on the thickness of the adsorbed layer and the adsorbances of the polyelectrolyte. It was assumed that the Donnan equilibrium existed between the adsorbed layer and the bulk phase. The thickness was larger and the adsorbance of the polyelectrolyte was lower for the lower salt concentration. However, the data on the molecular weight dependence of both the adsorbance and the thickness of the adsorbed polyelectrolyte have been lacking compared with the studies of adsorption of nonionic polymers onto metal surfaces (6-9). 

Both the approaches discussed above are addressed to the desire for immobilization of the metal species, while the corrosive and volatile promoter must still be trapped and recycled. Recently, Webber et al. (28) have attempted to achieve immobilization of both the metal species and the promoter by attaching rhodium to a polymer functionalized with chlorinated thiophenol groups. This imaginative approach is presently plagued by both low reactivity and rhodium loss from the polymer surface. 

However, many of heterogenized chiral catalysts suffer from the leaching of the active metal or the chiral auxiliary into the solvent and from the decrease of e.s. Another problem associated with catalysts made from metal complexes that are attached to either a modified polymer or metal oxide surface is that the techniques used for their preparation are rather specific and are driven by the nature... 

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