Abstract

Polymers and metals greatly differ in their deformation behaviour when they are conformed as laminate composites. Knowledge of the conformation of a polymer in the interface region is an important aspect in understanding the mechanism of adhesion in the composite. Characterisation and performance evaluations of the metal-polymer protective substrates, composed of a steel plate coated with electrolytic chromium (ECCS) and surface-protected by a poly(ethyleneterephthalate) (PET) co-rolled layer, were carried out by SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy). The chemical composition and morphology of the components that allow for good adhesion of the metal-polymer plate were studied at the interface. ATR (attenuated total reflection), FT-IR (Fourier transform-infrared) and confocal Raman spectroscopy were employed to analyse the structural changes of the PET coatings on the ECCS plates resulting from the manufacturing processes and mechanical stresses. Copyright OCCA 2005.