Use of silanes and copolymers as adhesion promoters glass fiber/polyethylene composites

Two organofunctional silanes and three functionalized copolymers were used as adhesion promoters in glass fiber/polyethylene-reinforced composites. Th e performance of the coupling agents was investigated by mechanical propert y measurements, scanning electron microscopy, and dynamic mechanical analys is. Coupling achieved with the poly(ethylene-g-maleic anhydride) copolymer proved to be the most successful compared with the other copolymers (ethyle ne/vinyl alcohol, ethylene/acrylic acid) and silane agents ( gamma -methacr yloxypropyltrimethoxy, cationic styryl). The combined coupling performance of the silanes and copolymers examined in this study appears to be controll ed by the coupling performance of the copolymer. Effective coupling was ref lected in increased mechanical properties. Increased fiber/matrix adhesion is not always associated with effective coupling because structural changes occurring at the interface region can result in a deterioration of the mat erial property. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.