Surface treatment

A polymer composite having a functionalised surface property, the polymer composite comprising:

• at least a top surface layer comprising a polymeric material having an elastic modulus of no more than 3000 MPa, the polymeric material defining a top surface plane of the polymer composite;
• and
• particles having a functional property embedded in the polymeric material of the top surface layer, wherein the embedded particles are present as individual entities and/or clusters of individual particles and do not form a continuous layer on the top surface layer of the polymer composite, and wherein
• at least some of the particles are embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite such that portions of the polymeric material at least partly surround the particles embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite, wherein
• any individual entity of particle embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite or any cluster of individual particles embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite is in a respective pocket establishing an open-ended channel to the top surface plane of the polymer composite, the open-ended channel providing direct open fluid communication between the top surface plane of the polymer composite and the respective pocket, wherein the respective pocket is a crater or a cavity, and wherein
• at least one pocket has a respective open-ended channel having a first cross-section width less than that of a diameter of a particle located within the at least one pocket, the first cross-section width measured in a direction parallel to the top surface plane of the polymer composite.

A polymer composite having a functionalized surface property, the polymer composite comprising:

• a substrate having at least a top surface layer formed of a polymeric material having an elastic modulus of no more than 1500 MPa, the polymeric material defining a top surface plane of the polymer composite, and
• particles having a functional property embedded in the top surface layer of the polymeric material by a spray mechanism in which the particles are accelerated and sprayed onto the top surface layer with a suitable velocity such that at least some of the particles are embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite, wherein
• the embedded particles are present as separate entities and do not form a continuous layer on the top surface layer of the substrate, and wherein
• any individual entity of the particles embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite is in a respective pocket in the polymeric material, the respective pocket formed by impact of the particle on the top surface layer of polymeric material, wherein the respective pocket is a crater or a cavity, and wherein
• the respective pocket includes an open-ended channel providing direct open fluid communication between a particle embedded in the respective pocket and the top surface plane of the polymeric material, wherein the open-ended channel has a first cross-section width less than that of a diameter of a particle located within the respective pocket, the first cross-section width measured in a direction parallel to the top surface plane of the polymer composite, and wherein
• any of the particles embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite in one of the respective pockets is unconnected directly through the polymeric material forming the top surface layer of the polymer composite by the open-ended channels to adjacent particles embedded completely below the top surface plane of the polymer composite in other respective pockets to thereby not be in fluid communication with the adjacent particles directly through the polymeric material.