Sol-Gel Processing of Silicon Alkoxides in Epoxy Resin for
Improvement of Adhesive Bond Strength
*
**
Shoy Joseph, M.S. Sreedevi , P. Sasidharan Achary ,
Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, India
Abstract
Epoxy adhesive containing silica clusters was prepared via sol-gel process. The silica clusters were
generated in-situ in diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) by sol-gel reaction from different
compositions
of
silicon
alkoxides
γ-aminopropyltriethoxysilane(γ-APS),
such
as
glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane(GPTMS),
tetraethylorthosilicate(TEOS)
and
water.
Adhesive,
mechanical and thermal properties of the system were studied after cross-linking with polyether
amine [poly(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether)].
The studies reported here reveal that sol-gel processing of silicon alkoxides in epoxy resin offers a
useful way to modify the properties of the epoxy network and the route can be used for tailoring the
properties of epoxy adhesives for various applications. Sol-gel processing with an optimal
concentration of silicon alkoxides and water improves the lap shear and T-peel strength. The
results indicate that the hybrid possesses a balance of rigidity and flexibility due to the co-existence
of silicon oxide and epoxy network structures. Mechanism of cluster formation of silicon oxide in
epoxy resin and the property improvement by silica particle are discussed.
*
Project student of Calicut University Campus
**
p_sasidharanachary@vssc.gov.in (author for correspondence)