Enhanced interfacial adhesion of glass fibers by tetravinylsilane plasma modification

Abstract Plasma-polymerized tetravinylsilane was used to surface modify glass fibers to improve interfacial adhesion of a GF/polyester composite. Plasma polymer films of controllable thickness and physicochemical properties were deposited on unsized glass fibers by RF pulsed plasma using an effective power of 0.1–5 W. The interfacial adhesion of unsized, industrially sized, oxygen plasma treated, and plasma polymer coated fibers embedded in polyester resin was determined by microindentation. The plasma modification of the glass fibers enabled a considerable increase in the interfacial shear strength compared to unsized fibers. The interfacial shear strength for the optimized plasma coating was 26% higher than that for the industrial sizing.