Reel-to-reel atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment of polypropylene films

Seidelmann, LJW, Bradley, JW, Ratova, M, Hewitt, J, Moffat, J and Kelly, P (2017) Reel-to-reel atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment of polypropylene films. Applied Sciences, 7 (4). ISSN 2076-3417

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Abstract

© 2017 by the authors. Atmospheric pressure plasma treatment of the surface of a polypropylene film can significantly increase its surface energy and, thereby improve the printability of the film. A laboratory-scale dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) system has therefore been developed, which simulates the electrode configuration and reel-to-reel web transport mechanism used in a typical industrial-scale system. By treating the polypropylene in a nitrogen discharge, we have shown that the water contact angle could be reduced by as much as 40° compared to the untreated film, corresponding to an increase in surface energy of 14 mNm-1. Ink pull-off tests showed that the DBD plasma treatment resulted in excellent adhesion of solvent-based inks to the polypropylene film.