Nanoengineering of REversible ADhesion between a Metallic and a Polymer Surface : Tailoring of New Functional Surfaces by Combination of Nanotexturing and Plasma Polymerisation - REVAD

Institution CRP Gabriel Lippmann
Partenaire(s) : Centre Suisse d'Electronique et Microtechnologie (CH) , Novelis - Foil Innovation Centre
Autres partenaire(s) University of Michigan
Du : 01/05/2009
Au : 30/04/2012
Budget : 812 000,00€
Contact(s) : Choquet Patrick

Progress Summary 2009

The objective of the project is to achieve major advances in the understanding and characterization of the interactions between nanostructured materials and new functional surfaces obtained by plasma polymerization or by wet chemical solutions. Using a multidisciplinary approach combining numerical simulations, chemistry, biology, physics and mechanics, several new aspects in the interaction between modified substrate surfaces and the functionality of “reversible adhesion” will be investigated to determine the causative effects that lead to a robust and reversible adhesion.

In 2009, two PhD students have been hired respectively in May and in October and the Consortium Agreement has been established and signed. The activities of three work-packages have started and they concerns the surface modifications by chemical plasma of the aluminum and PET foils, the numerical simulations to study the adhesion forces and the interface structure and the elaboration of new nanostructured surface. The set-up of plasma polymerization process conditions to achieve a reversible adhesion is based on the Diels-Alder reaction.

Firstly, the realization of the dienophile functionalized aluminum substrates has been studied and the first results are very interesting. The efforts are now focused on the elaboration of diene functionalized on PET substrates in order to check, if the initial Revad’s proposal operating conditions can be achieved. The numerical simulations are for instant focused on the study of the adhesion forces between the aluminum oxide layer and carboxyl groups deposited by plasma.

The simulation work appears as a huge task, nevertheless, this activity will enlarge the knowledge on interface structure and adhesion forces and it will contribute to the development of the atomistic and molecular-scale simulations in this field. Methods to set-up experimental surface modifications by nanotexturation techniques are also be evaluated during this first year of the project. The nanotexturing technique is based on templating from diatom frustules (activity in collaboration with the EVA department of the CRP-GL). The efforts have been focused on the choice of the diatoms, indeed only circular and convex diatoms could provide a way to a homogeneous distribution on a surface. The parameters for the elaboration of PDMS replica has also been started and more particularly, concerning the polymerization step such as temperature and deposition thickness.