This is an author's version published in: http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/23772
ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACTKeywords:
Three•polnt bendlng test Cross-eut test Adheslon mechanJsms Atmospherlc pressure plasma PEEKmatrlxOur study focuses on the use of a remote atmospheric pressure plasma process for the improvement of polymer surface reactivity. Indeed, surface activation of carbon-fiber-reinforced pol ym ers that use a poly etheretherketone matrix is required to achieve strong and long-term adhesion of paint on the composite. Emphasis 111,ill be placed on the contribution of gas plasma used on surface modification. We use two techniques to characterize adherence improvement: a qualitative and industrial approach with a cross-eut test and a quantitative approach with a three-point bending test. However, to provide a better understanding of the plasma-induced modifications ttsing air or nitrogen gas, diagnostics of the surface are also necessary. The wettability improvement, chemical surface modifications, and topography are analyzed by using contact angle measurement, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy, respectively. The combination of these diagnostics highlights the capability of plasma treatrnent to tune the plasma/surface interactions de pending on gas plasma, which results in improved adhesion. E-mail address: nicolas.naude@laplace.univ-tlse.fr ( N . Naudé). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2019.01.102 2.6. Interface characterization by three-point bending test 2. 6.1. Relevance of the test Among the wide variety of mechanical tests, three-point bending test according to ISO 14679:1997 [19] presents some advantages in the context of this study. The good repeatability of the results, as a result of the tensile machine, coupled with the numerous types of exploitable information that can be obtained, ma.kes this test useful for a better