Surface modification and adhesive-free adhesion of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and silicone gel containing oleophilic SiO2 powder by plasma treatment

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) has high-frequency characteristics and low transmission loss, and is expected to be used as a substrate material of printed wiring board for high-frequency applications. Meanwhile, silicone gel has superior properties such as attaching/detaching, weather resistance, and human safety. If the PTFE and silicone gel can be strongly adhered to, they can be applied to internet of things (IoT) devices that can be attached and detached freely. However, adhesion between PTFE, which has poor adhesion, and silicone gel, which has low mechanical strength, is difficult and has not been reported. In this study, PTFE was modified with heat-assisted plasma treatment, and silicone gel was treated with oleophilic SiO2 powder to improve elastic modulus and modified with plasma jet treatment, and then bonded without adhesive. The adhesion strength of PTFE/silicone gel assembly was 1.13 N mm(-1) when treated moderately, but only 0.01 N mm(-1) when untreated and treated excessively. To investigate the factors causing the difference in the adhesion strength, the surface of silicone gel was evaluated by water contact angle measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and confocal laser scanning microscopy. When treated moderately, hydrophilic functional groups and cross-linking were most frequently increased. Furthermore, when treated excessively, surface degradation was observed, which was expected to lower the adhesion strength. The adhesive-free bonding between PTFE and silicone gel can open a new path for developing IoT devices that can be freely attached and detached.

Automated summary

In this study, the adhesion strength between PTFE and silicone gel was improved by modifying PTFE with heat-assisted plasma treatment and treating silicone gel with oleophilic SiO2 powder and plasma jet treatment. The adhesion strength of the PTFE/silicone gel assembly was 1.13 N mm(-1) when treated moderately, but only 0.01 N mm(-1) when untreated and treated excessively. Surface evaluation of the silicone gel showed increased hydrophilic functional groups and cross-linking when treated moderately. Surface degradation was observed when treated excessively, leading to lower adhesion strength. The adhesive-free bonding between PTFE and silicone gel can enable the development of freely attachable and detachable IoT devices.