Applications of Diffuse Reflectance FT-IR to the Characterization of an E-Glass Fiber/γ-APS Coupling Agent System

Abstract

The utility of diffuse reflectance FT-IR (DRIFT) spectroscopy is explored to study the surfaces of clean E-glass fibers and E-glass/coupling agent systems. The ability to use a nondestructive sampling procedure is an important benefit for the study of these systems. However, the nature of the fiber samples leads to several experimental difficulties. We solve these problems through the use of a KBr overlayer. Using this sample-preparation procedure, we increase the information derivable from the spectra. The inherent surface sensitivity of the DRIFT technique is demonstrated by the study of small amounts of the silane coupling agent γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (γ-APS) on the surface of E-glass fibers.