MOLECULAR-ORGANIZATION OF THE COUPLING AGENT INTERPHASE OF FIBER-GLASS REINFORCED-PLASTICS

In the reported experiments, the structure of the silane coupling agent interphase of fiber-glass reinforced plastics has been studied by Fourier transform infrared and laser Raman spectroscopy. It is found that there is a degree of order in the molecular organization of the coupling agent interphase for the vinyl and cyclohexyl functional silane coupling agents. When a cyclohexyl functional silane is used, crystalline layers of silanetriol on the glass fibers are observed. The extent of order is determined by the structure of the adsorbed species, which is influenced by the structure of the silane in the treating solution. Two factors introducing disorder in the interphase are the magnitude of the aggregation of the silanes in solution and irregularities in the topology of the glass surface.