Improved Adhesive Bonding With Electrical Surface Treatment In Automot

Polypropylene finds increasing use in automotive interior trim applications. However, thermoplastic olefins are difficult to bond with adhesives because of their low surface energy and wettability. These materials require surface treatment before adhesive bonding. This paper explains how the electrical discharge treatment produces polar functional groups on a polymer surface to increase adhesive bond strength. The results of an experimental study with decorative fabric inserts adhesively bonded to polypropylene substrates show a dramatic increase in bond strength after the substrates were treated with electrical discharge.