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The metallisation of plastics

■ The metallisation of plastics is at the border between surface coatings and plastic conversion and is of interest for all fields in which plastic materials are used (automobile, electronics, packaging, household electrical appliances, etc.).

To provide an update on developments and applications in this field, the survey provides a thorough state of the art review of coating technologies on the main polymers and techno-polymers. After a part devoted to adhesion mechanisms and the characteristics of thermo-plastics, the survey details the different depositing processes that can be used to metallise plastics: depositing by chemical method, electrolytic depositing, and vacuum depositing.

The survey presents and analyses the specificities of the main areas of use: automobile and transport, perfumes and cosmetics, electronics, packaging, sanitary and valves. An approach by type of deposit (technical and functional deposits, precious and decorative deposits, selective and 3D deposits, special deposits) is used to discuss their advantages, limits, and the applications of each depositing technique. A vast amount of information and references (characteristics of materials and coatings, patents filed, bibliography, research bodies, companies, etc.) is provided throughout the survey.