ABSTRACT
The same plasma polymer deposited in a closed-system reactor has a graded elemental composition with a carbon-rich top surface, and the oligomer content is much lower [10], both of which increase the level of adhesion. The adhesion of the same water-borne primer is excellent and survives 8 h immersion in boiling water. When this surface is treated with O2 plasma, the adhesion does not survive 1 h of boiling, while the dry tape test still remains at the level of 5. The water-sensitivity of adhesion depends on the chemical nature of the top surface as depicted by XPS data shown in Figure 28.12. Water-insensitive tenacious adhesion, coupled with good transport barrier characteristics, provides excellent corrosion protection, as supported by experimental data [1-4], and constitutes the basic principle for the ‘‘barrier-adhesion’’ approach.
