Tailoring the S-2 Glass/Epoxy Interface Properties Through Chemical Vapor Deposition of Silane Adhesion Promotors

Abstract

This work investigates the use of an ambient temperature chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process to deposit thin layers of (3-glycidoxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (GPS) onto the surface of unsized S-2 Glass fiber. The duration of silane vapor deposition was changed to vary the coverage and thickness of the silane layer to determine the effect of the interface thickness on the interfacial properties. The interfacial shear strengths between these coated fibers and DER353 epoxy cured with Amicure PACM were measured using a single fiber pullout test. These test results suggest that the IFSS can be increased by 50% compared to the unsized baseline and controlled by changing the CVD exposure time. This will allow for the tailoring of the interfacial properties and give materials engineers an opportunity to further optimize the composite material for their applications.