Effect of surface pre-oxidation on laser assisted joining of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and zinc-coated steel

Abstract

Surface oxidation pre-treatment of zinc-coated steel was performed to verify its effect on enhancing the joint strength in the laser assisted joining of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and zinc-coated steel. Tensile shear tests indicated that the joint strength between pre-oxidized zinc-coated steel and ABS was considerably enhanced in comparison with that of untreated joint. The zinc oxide layer was generated in the zinc layer by pre-treatment on zinc-coated steel and the thickness of the zinc oxide layer is proportional to the joint strength of joining as long as the strength of zinc oxide layer is higher than that of the jointed layer. When the thicker zinc oxide layer on the zinc-coated steel is reacted with carbon on the ABS, it increases the potential for chemical bonding between the zinc oxide and carbon (Zn-O-C). Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements, the strongly jointed areas were evaluated at atomic or molecular levels to investigate the physical and chemical bonding between the reacted carbon layer and zinc oxide layer. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved