Alternative surface treatments on plastic parts for the improvement of coatings and functionalization – SURFPLAST

Both metallic and non-metallic coatings on plastics or metals are used for a wide variety of purposes, including those for decorative and optical purposes.

As plastics do not have electrical conductivity, to improve the adhesion of the coatings, they use a previous process called etching that uses Chromium VI. Due to the harmful effects on workers’ health, the EU will ratify this year the ban on the use of this material, so it is necessary to investigate new plating processes.

To this end, is physical vapour deposition or PVD a good alternative, and do these coatings provide good mechanical properties? And lastly, will they pass the relevant quality controls in each application?

Different PVD coatings will be developed according to the intended application on previously treated surfaces. For this purpose, different technologies will be used: ion gun, low pressure plasma, atmospheric pressure plasma and microtexturing.

PVD coatings have been shown in previous research at AIJU to be successfully applied on plastics without the use of polluting processes.

Its implementation in the field of plastics, will place the Valencian Community and consequently Europe in a situation of competitive advantage, given that the demand to continue coating plastics is still high.

The project with acronym SURFPLAST, “Alternative surface treatments on plastic parts for the improvement of coatings and functionalization”, is funded by IVACE, led by AIJU and with the collaboration of companies such as ACCESORIOS Y RESORTES S.L., GONHER SA and SATIS COATING SL.

SURFPLAST “Alternative surface treatments on plastic parts for the improvement of coatings and functionalization”.

File number: IMDEEA/2024/114
Start date: 01/03/2024
Duration: 15 months
Status: Initiated

COORDINATOR CONTACT

Name: Mirko Kunowsky
Telephone: 965554475
E-mail: mirkokunowsky@aiju.es

Project funded by the European Union

Linked to the smart specialisation strategy line S3: Ecological and sustainable transition