Polyethylene is a typical hydrophobic material and it is difficult to bond the polyethylene material with metal material. Thus, it is important to modify the surface of polyethylene material to improve the bonding strength between the polyethylene and the metal materials. In this study, the surface modification of polyethylene material was investigated to improve the interfacial strength between the polyethylene and the steel materials. Polyethylene material was surface-modified in a plasma cleaner using an oxygen gas. Two cases of composites (surface-modified polyethylene/steel composite and regular (as-received) polyethylene/steel composite) were fabricated using a secondary bonding method. Shear and bending tests have been performed using the two cases of composites. The results showed that the contact angle did not change much as the modification time increased. However, the contact angle decreased from -76° to ~41° with the modification. The results also showed that the shear strength and the bending strength were improved about 3030 % and 7 %, respectively when the polyethylene was plasma-modified using an oxygen gas.
