Adhesion improvement at polyester fabric-silicone rubber interface by plasmas of argon and air to obtain conveyor belt

Abstract

Conveyor belt production requires good adhesion between coating layer and fabrics. Adhesion is important for good mechanical properties of belts. Silicone rubber has gained importance in food carrying because it is harmless when being in contact with food materials. The aim of this study is to enhance the problematic adhesion properties between polyester fabrics and silicone rubber coating by plasma treatment. The fabrics are modified by air or argon RF plasmas under different power and time conditions. Influence of plasma parameters was investigated by adhesion strength tests. To investigate changes on adhesion, wettability measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed untreated and plasma treated polyester fabrics. After plasma treatments, the coating adhesion between fabric and coating polymer was increased approximately for 4.6 times for argon and 4.3 times for air plasmas.