Effect of corona pre-treatment on the performance of gas barrier layers applied by atomic layer deposition onto polymer-coated paperboard

摘要

The effect of corona pre-treatment on the performance of Al_2O_3 and SiO_2 gas barrier layers applied by atomic layer deposition onto polymer-coated paperboards was studied. Both polyethylene and polylac-tide coated paperboards were corona treated prior to ALD. Corona treatment increased surface energies of the paperboard substrates, and this effect was still observed after several days. Al_2O_3 and SiO_2 films were grown on top of the polymer coatings at temperature of 100℃ using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. For SiO_2 depositions a new precursor, bis(diethylamido) silane, was used. The positive effect of the corona pre-treatment on the barrier properties of the polymer-coated paperboards with the ALD-grown layers was more significant with polyethylene coated paperboard and with thin deposited layers (shorter ALD process). SiO_2 performed similarly to Al_2O_3 with the PE coated board when it comes to the oxygen barrier, while the performance of SiO_2 with the biopolymer-coated board was more moderate. The effect of corona pre-treatment was negligible or even negative with the biopolymer-coated board. The ALD film growth and the effect of corona treatment on different substrates require further investigation.