Preparation and bonding mechanisms of polymer/metal hybrid composite by nano molding technology

With the development of nano molding technology (NMT), the polymer/metal hybrid (PMH) composites have made great progress in industries like automobile, aircraft, and boat. The bonding structure and bonding strength are the key factors ruling the application of PMH. In this work, the PMH containing polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) and Al alloy was prepared by NMT, and the surface treating of Al alloy and the bonding mechanism of PMH has been studied. The results reveal that the bonding strength between metal and polymer shows dependence on the pore structure of the metal surface, which could be controlled by changing the anodizing voltage and time. The PMH in which the Al plate was anodized at 15 V for 6 h achieves the best bonding strength of 1,543 N. The morphological analysis reveals that there forms an anchor and bolt structure in the interface of PPS and Al plate, which bonds the polymer and metal tightly. In addition, the chemical interaction between PPS and Al was confirmed by attenuated total reflection (ATR) infrared spectroscopy, which indicates that both physical and chemical effects contribute to the bonding strength of the PMH. This PMH has great potential of being used as alternative to traditional pure metal components, especially the packing materials of automobiles, electronic products, and furniture.