The FT-IR techniques UATR, PAS and MIC with ATR objective were chosen to characterize the surface of EPDM rubber vulcanized after treatment in Ar/O2 or N2/H2/Ar plasma generated in a microwave oven. After treatment, oxygenated groups were detected by UATR and MIC-FT-IR, with ATR objective for the two gas mixtures, and possible nitrogenous groups were inserted on the surface after the plasma treatment with N2/H2/Ar. The MIC/FT-IR analysis suggested that groups were formed on an outermost layer, inferred from a reduced intensity of the CH2 and CH3 absorption bands for the treatment in N2/H2/Ar plasma, probably because nitrogen is less permeable than oxygen. Different speeds with PAS analyses (0.05 cm.s-1 and 0.2 cm.s-1) were used to evaluate the surface after treatment. Only for the speed 0.05 cm.s-1 in Ar/O2 plasma were spectroscopic changes detected. The decrease in the contact angle and the increased resistance to peel indicated improvements in the bonding adhesive properties of the surface. Bonding failure was observed between the adhesive PU film and the EPDM rubber, which was confirmed by UATR/FT-IR.
EPDM; plasma; surface characterization; UATR/FT-IR; PAS; MIC
