Atmospheric pressure plasma oxidation of AA6061-T6 aluminum alloy surface for strong and durable adhesive bonding applications

AA 6061-T6 aluminum alloy surface has been treated using atmospheric pressure helium–oxygen plasma at room temperature prior to bonding with a bi-component epoxy resin. The adhesive joint strengths were evaluated via single lap shear tests as prepared (pristine conditions) as well as following degradation by exposure to extreme temperature and humidity conditions (cataplasma conditions). Very high adhesion strength of 24 ± 1 MPa was achieved on surfaces after a very short exposure of the He/O2 plasma of only 15 s under pristine conditions resulting in cohesive failure of the adhesive itself. Best results were obtained under cataplasma conditions with adhesion strength of 22.6 ± 1 MPa by introducing a very simple pretreatment with scotch brite® prior to plasma exposure. With many different surface treatment methods being predominantly tested and evaluated, the adhesive bonding community may highly benefit from the present work as the treatment method uses very simple, economical and safe procedures in obtaining results comparable to benchmark methods such as Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) etch, anodization and so on.