Adsorption of poly(vinyl formamide-co-vinyl amine) (PVFA-co-PVAm) onto metal surfaces

Abstract

The formation of stable metal/polymer joints is an enormous challenge in material sciences. Good adhesion requires an interphase which is able to specifically interact with the metal substrate as well as with the second component. Furthermore, the interphase should compensate thermally generated mechanical tensions between the two adhering components. It will be shown that statistic copolymers of poly(vinyl formamide) and poly(vinyl amine) (PVFA-co-PVAm) are potential candidates for adhesion promoters. The polyelectrolyte character of the copolymers allows to apply them from its aqueous solutions. The primary amino groups exhibit the copolymers as highly reactive to metal surfaces as well as to the second joint partner. The adsorption mechanism of PVFA-co-PVAm onto metal surfaces depends strongly on the metal species and its surface composition. On the other hand, PVFA-co-PVAm copolymers offer a wide variety in their number of functional groups may be involved in metal/polymer interactions. Here, the adsorption behavior of PVFA-co-PVAm copolymer samples onto different metal species was under investigation. Correlations between the copolymer's composition and the adsorbed amount allowed to get information for tailor-made adhesion promoter systems. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.