Adhesion of poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel on polyethylene film

Polyethylene (PE) film surface was etched by oxidization of chromic acid solution. The chemical changes of the oxidized PE film surface were characterized by XPS and IR. The surface structures and physical properties of the PE film were characterized by SEM, AFM and the contact angle measurements. Two kinds of the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solution were prepared for the chemically and physically crosslinking hydrogels, respectively. The PVA solutions were pasted on the etched PE films. The PVA hydrogel-PE film composites were obtained by physically and chemically crosslinking process. The results of peeling strength and SEM observations show that there exists strong adhesion between the PVA hydrogel and PE film.