Ultrasound enhanced plasma treatment of glass-fibre-reinforced polyester in atmospheric pressure air for adhesion improvement

A glass-fibre-reinforced polyester (GFRP) plate was treated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure in air for adhesion improvement. The effects of ultrasonic irradiation using a high-power gas-jet generator during the treatment were investigated. The optical emission spectrum of the discharge remained almost unchanged by the ultrasonic irradiation, indicating that the bulk property of the discharge was not significantly influenced by the ultrasound. However, the ultrasonic irradiation during the plasma treatment suppressed occasional arcing in the DBD, preventing damage of the GFRP plates. The polar component of the surface energy of the polyester plate was 21mJ/m² before the treatment, increased markedly to 52mJ/m² after 2-s plasma treatment without ultrasonic irradiation, and further increased slightly after longer treatments. In addition, the polar component of the surface energy increased due to the simultaneous ultrasonic irradiation, indicating that the adhesive property would be further improved. This result shows a good agreement with surface characterization by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry ion images show that nitrogen-containing functional groups were uniformly attached after the treatments. The roughness of the GFRP surfaces increased after the plasma treatment, but the ultrasonic irradiation did not enhance surface roughening.