Plating on engineering plastics is necessary as an alternative to metallic materials for weight reduction and design improvement. However, harmful chemical substances are involved in plastic plating processes. For this study, we specifically assessed polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) as a metal substitute material and examined low-vacuum Cu sputtering. Along with fatigue resistance, heat resistance, and electrical characteristics, PBT has particularly good water absorption resistance and therefore excellent dimensional stability. Because of these characteristics, PBT has attracted attention as a metal substitute material. Low-vacuum Cu sputter is excellent for metal deposition on a three-dimensional object because particles from the target are scattered in a low vacuum. For this study, we examined improvement of the adhesion of Cu sputter to PBT by applying oxygen plasma treatment as a sputter pretreatment.
Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is an engineering plastic; when reinforced with fillers, it exhibits high heat resistance, strength, and molding/dimensional stability. Plating on PPS without using harmful chemicals can meet the following requirements due to its excellent properties: low environmental load process, lightweight metal substitute materials, electromagnetic wave shielding materials, etc. This study focused on metallizing by atmospheric ultraviolet (UV) treatment of PPS. This process is generally used for the pretreatment of painting and adhesion, and it entails a small environmental load; however, the UV treatment of moist air produces various chemical species. Therefore, the humidity effect during metallizing via atmospheric UV treatment was investigated, revealing its influence on the adhesion strength of the resulting metal film. In a dry environment, a metal film with strong adhesion can be formed on PPS, and UV treatment under such conditions can maintain the structure of the PPS surface. In contrast, a weak layer was generated under wet conditions, reducing the adhesion strength between the metal film and PPS.
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