Moisture barrier of AlxOy coating on poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(ethylene naphthalate) and poly(carbonate) substrates

• Published in: Applied surface science Vol. 250; no. 1-4; pp. 135 - 145
• Main Authors: Low, HongYee, Xu, Yongan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 31.08.2005; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Exact sciences and technology; Moisture barrier; PEN; PET; Physics; Structure and morphology; thickness; Surface energy; Surface roughnees; Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties); Thin film structure and morphology; UV-ozone; 73.50; 73.61; PC; UV-ozone; PEN; 81.15.E; Surface roughnees; Moisture barrier; PET; Surface energy; Ethylene terephthalate polymer; Atomic force microscopy; Roughness; 81.15.E Moisture barrier; Surface structure; Thin films; Polycarbonates; Water barrier; Aluminium oxides
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2004.12.049

The moisture barrier property of AlxOy coated poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) and poly(carbonate) (PC), have been investigated. The differences in the morphology of the AlxOy sputtered grown on these substrate were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The initial growth of the AlxOy followed closely the topology of the substrate and an amplified roughness was observed. In the fully grown AlxOy, the comparative roughness followed that of the substrates. It has been found that a single layer AlxOy improved the moisture barrier of PET by an order of magnitude, PC by two orders of magnitude while no improvement was observed for PEN. UV-ozone treatment on PC further improved the moisture barrier, while no improvement was observed for PET and PEN. The comparative effects of the substrate surface roughness and surface energy on the moisture barrier are discussed.