XPS and AFM study of the structure of hydrolysed aminosilane on e-glass surfaces

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been used to study the interaction of -aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) with an E-glass surface. Three components of differing hydrolytic stability and molecular structure in the APS deposit have been confirmed by the study of warm water (50c) and hot water (100c) extractions. Warm water extracted the APS hydrolysed monomers and the oligomers with low molecular weight. Hot water extraction was supposed to remove the loosely chemisorbed silane layer on E-glass surface. Atomic force microscope (AFM) has also been employed in this study. The differences were observed in the AFM images of APS coated E-glass fibres before and after water extractions. A topography of 'hills' or 'valleys' on APS coated E-glass fibre was changed to a topography of 'pores' or 'pits' on hot water extracted E-glass fibre. This also reflected the partial removal of the silane components after water extractions.