Publications Details
Use of Self-Assembling Monolayers to Control Interface Bonding in a Model Study of Interfacial Fracture
The relationships between the extent of interfacial bonding, energy dissipation mechanisms, and fracture toughness in a glassy adhesive/inorganic solid joint are not well understood. We address this subject with a model system involving an epoxy adhesive on a polished silicon wafer containing its native oxide. The extent of interfacial bonding, and the wetting behavior of the epoxy, is varied continuously using self-assembling monolayers (SAMs) of octadecyltrichlorosilane (ODTS). The epoxy interacts strongly with the bare silicon oxide surface, but forms only a very weak interface with the methylated tails of the ODTS monolayer. We examine the fracture behavior of such joints as a function of the coverage of ODTS in the napkin-ring geometry. Various characterization methods are applied to the ODTS-coated surface before application of the epoxy, and to both surfaces after fracture. The fracture data are discussed with respect to the wetting of the liquid epoxy on the ODTS-coated substrates, the locus of failure, and the energy dissipation mechanisms. Our goal is to understand how energy is dissipated during fracture as a function of interface strength.