| Abstract: | An adhesive bond was formed by sintering low-density polyethylene onto aluminum with a porous anodic film. The topography of the polymer surface in contact with the anodized aluminum was studied in a scanning electron microscope, having removed the aluminum and alumina by dissolution in aqueous sodium hydroxide. The surface of the polymer appeared very rough with large projections of various forms, all of which were many times larger than the pores revealed in the anodic films by transmission electron microscopy. These projections are shown to consist, most probably, of “stacks” or “tufts” of much smaller polyethylene fibers, each of which had entered a pore in the anodic film. Thus, the scanning electron-microscopic investigation confirms the keying mechanism for the adhesionof polyethylene to porous anodic films on aluminum proposed in an earlier paper. |
