UV surface pretreatment: cleaning and activation

Treatment with intensive UV light can prepare surfaces for better flow and adhesion of coatings, inks and adhesives.

  • Do you need to remove organic contamination from glass surfaces?
  • Do you want to activate the surfaces of plastics?

UV technology can do this. See how it works!

How does UV activation and cleaning of surfaces work?

Activating and cleaning surfaces with UV light

High-energy UV photons are able to break up molecular organic bonds at and on surfaces.

This UV oxidation process cleans the surface of contaminants.

It also leads to the introduction of functional groups such as hydroxyl, carbonyl or carboxyl groups which increases the surface energy of a surface which improves both wettability and adhesion.

Your advantages

  • Improved wettability resulting in better bonding and coating adhesion
  • Environmentally friendly because chemicals-free
  • Does not damage materials
  • Simple and fast method
  • Does not induce electrostatic charge
  • Can treat only one side

Applications areas

  • Activation and cleaning of surfaces such as plastic prior to gluing or decorating
  • Surfaces, such as metal or glass, requiring removal of organic contamination prior to further processing

VUV surface cleaning wafers

VUV surface activation

Products for surface activation and cleaning

To pretreat surfaces with UV, use specialty light sources which can generate high radiation in the low-wave spectral range below 200 nm.

  • Noblelight UV mercury lamps with emission wavelengths of 185 nm and 254 nm