Raising the barriers

The traditional packaging film materials, non-polar polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) are used in several industrial packaging applications. Hydrolysis acts as a rapid initial reaction of the sol-gel process, where reactive alkoxide groups react with water molecules to form hydroxyl groups. RE plasma is based on a capacitive or inductive matching of the impedance in the system, with a time-varying magnetic field subsequently creating an electric ring field which excites the electrons and produces plasma. The sol-gel technique with atmospheric plasma pretreatment has proved to be a potential method to produce functional sol-gel thin films on reel-to-reel products. The oil and grease resistance of the specimens was studied by contact angle measurements with oleic acid. In addition, the effect of abrasive wear on the oil repellency was studied by a standard paint washing tester apparatus, where a brush was used as an abrasive material.