The cost of most primary materials is increasing, therefore, finding innovative solutions for the re-use of residual waste has become a topic discussed more intensely in recent years. WPCs certainly meet some of these demands. The presented study is focused on an experimental analysis of the effect of surface treatment on the adhesive properties of selected WPCs. Bonding of polymer-based materials is a rather complicated phenomenon and modification of the bonded area in order to improve the adhesive properties is required. Two traditional types of surface treatments and one entirely new approach have been used: mechanical with sandpaper, chemical with 10 wt % NaOH solution and physical modification of the surface by means of a MHSDBD plasma source. For comparison purposes, two high-density polyethylene based products and one polyvinyl-chloride based product with different component ratios were tested. A bonded joint was made using a moisture-curing permanently elastic one-component polyurethane pre-polymer adhesive. Standardized tensile and shear test methods were performed after surface treatment. All tested surface treatments resulted in an improvement of adhesive properties and an increase in bond strength, however, the MHSDBD plasma treatment was proven to be a more suitable surface modification for all selected WPCs.
Keywords: adhesion; adhesive; bond; cohesion; composite; joint; multi-hollow surface dielectric barrier discharge plasma source (MHSDBD); sandpaper; wood-plastic composite (WPC).