Coating of PET cords at atmospheric pressure plasma discharge in the presence of butadiene/nitrogen gas mixtures

In this work, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) cords were treated by an aborted arc discharge generated at atmospheric pressure. The PET cords were modified by plasma polymerization in a mixture of nitrogen and butadiene. The gaseous products arisen by decomposition of butadiene during the plasma polymerization were observed by UV–VIS emission spectroscopy. The chemical composition of deposited layer was examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) adapted for the rough surfaces (diffusion reflection spectroscope EasyDiff). The topology of deposited polymer layer was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The difference in Hg-porosity suggests that the new layer fills the pores of the PET cord in the range of 30–4480 nm. However, a new deposited layer create a new roughness on the PET structure. This roughness involves the pores in the range of 5 up to 15.170 μm. The new deposited layer is responsible for the better adhesion of the PET cords to the styrene–butadiene rubber blend.