Flame-treating process
US5753754A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 13, 1996 |
| Grant date | May 19, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 13, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB29C59/08
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides a method of modifying the surface of a polymeric substrate, e.g., to improve the wettability of the polymer film surface and/or alter the reactivity of the surface of the substrate by further oxidation or affixation of nitrogen, comprising exposing the substrate to a flame. The flame is supported by a fuel and oxidizer mixture that includes an effective amount, for modifying the polymeric substrate, of at least one compound that functions as a fuel or oxidizer substitute and is selected from an oxygen-containing compound, in which the oxygen comprises between about 10 and 50 atomic percent of the compound, a nitrogen-containing compound or an oxygen-nitrogen-containing compound. In a preferred embodiment, which affixes nitrogen or nitrogen-containing chemical groups onto the surface of the film, the flame is supported by a fuel and oxidizer mixture that includes ammonia, nitrous oxide, nitric oxide or a mixture thereof in an effective amount. Large increases in the ASTM wetting test, e.g., greater than 13 mJ/m.sup.2 over that reported with conventional flame-treating processes, have been observed in films treated according to this invention. In additi…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.