The Challenge of Low Surface Energy in Plastics
Plastics such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), and thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) are widely used across industries. However, their naturally low surface energy makes bonding with paints, coatings, adhesives, and inks difficult.
Traditional methods—like flame, plasma, or corona treatment—can temporarily increase surface energy, but the effects quickly diminish. These processes often struggle with complex geometries and can be inconsistent over time. Similarly, solvent-based primers or adhesion promoters may work, but they are costly, hazardous and messy to handle, and environmentally unsustainable.
Why Surface Energy Is Key to Strong Adhesion
As more product assemblies rely on plastics, from electronics and medical devices to automobile components, effective bonding to plastics has become integral to many industries.
Surface energy determines how well a liquid (such as paint or adhesive) spreads across a solid surface:
- Low surface energy plastics repel paints, adhesives, and coatings, leading to weak bonds.
- High surface energy plastics allow for better wetting, uniform coverage, and strong, lasting adhesion.
If the surface energy of a plastic is lower than that of the adhesive or coating, bonding will be incomplete—causing peeling, flaking, or failure over time. ‘Bondability’ is the ability to adequately wet the surface, spread uniformly, and adhere to the surface of the plastics—these need to be maximized to ensure adhesion performance.
Introducing ModyBond™: Permanent Surface Activation for Plastics
ModyBond™, developed by Inhance Technologies, improves the bondability of plastic materials by permanently increasing surface energy without impacting strength, flexibility, or other critical performance properties.
Unlike other technologies that can degrade over time or struggle with specific geometries, ModyBond™ permanently imparts the highest surface energy and polarity, improving wettability, film formation, and maximizing adhesion.
Key Advantages of ModyBond™ for Adhesion Performance
- Permanently Enhances Surface Energy: Plastics treated with ModyBond™ maintain high surface energy for years, ensuring reliable adhesion even after long-term storage.
- Freedom of Design: Will reach all exposed surfaces regardless of design without the need for robotics or part manipulation.
- Proven Performance: Utilized for decades across a wide variety of industries including automotive and medical device.
- Maximizes Adhesion: Leads to stronger bonds that often exceed the strength of the original plastic itself. Perfect for high-stakes applications where you can’t compromise on reliability.
- Enables Sustainable Choices: By providing better wettability and compatibility with water-based coatings and adhesives, ModyBond™ helps companies shift away from less sustainable, solvent-based formulas.
- Versatile Applications: Works on hard-to-treat plastics like PE, PP, TPO, EPDM, PA6, PET, ABS, and polysiloxane, delivering line-of-sight independent treatment. This overcomes coverage gaps in areas that robots and other equipment are unable to reach.
- Cost Savings & Light Weighting: With a durable treatment that lasts for years, it allows the use of a broader range of plastics, driving substantial material cost reductions. By eliminating the need for primer layers or mechanical fasteners, ModyBond™ can help manufacturers lower assembly costs and reduce component weight.
- Flexible Service Options: Available from small to large-scale runs, at any of our 10 global toll locations or via on-site treatment.
Performance: Surface Energy Comparison
Independent testing (ASTM D2578-84) demonstrates significant increases in surface energy (dyne/cm) with ModyBond™, enabling long-lasting adhesion across multiple plastic types.
Applications and Industries Benefiting from ModyBond™
ModyBond™ finds use in diverse industries:
- Transportation—Vehicle interiors, exteriors, and specialty parts
- Consumer Goods—Health and beauty, appliances, sporting goods
- Industrial—Building products, packaging, construction elements
- Healthcare—Medical devices and specialized equipment
Why Permanent Surface Activation Matters
For industries striving for reliable and efficient plastic bonding, permanently increasing surface energy is a game-changer. ModyBond™ enables adhesion, design freedom, and environmental responsibility, all in a single process. Whether you’re building the next generation of lightweight vehicles, durable appliances, or high-performance medical devices, permanent surface activation is the key to unlocking plastics’ full potential.
Contact us, us today to learn how ModyBond™ can improve adhesion, streamline production, and enhance the durability of your products.