# Polyethylene surface treatment increases adhesion while preserving bulk strength

_Published Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 12:13 PM EDT · Science · Latest · Tier 2 — Notable_

Researchers demonstrated a catalytic treatment that makes solid polyethylene adhere to polar surfaces up to 90-fold more strongly than untreated polyethylene while preserving bulk properties such as melting temperature and tensile strength, a Nature paper reports.

The method converts surface chemical groups into ketones at a solid-liquid interface using 0.001 mol% iron catalyst, inexpensive oxidants and temperatures below 80 °C. Adhesion was up to 4-fold stronger than polyethylene treated uniformly at a comparable functionalization level. The researchers also demonstrated further chemical modification of the surface ketones to increase adhesive strength.

## Sources

- [Nature](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-11255-3)

---
Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/yhklsaZvdt3P3irsww-4Q2
Published: 2026-10-13T16:13:31.038Z
Story chronology: 2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-13T19:03:00.060Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)