title: Dewetting of unreacted epoxy/amine mixtures on silica.
abstract: We employ a direct method, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy (ToF-SIMS), to determine experimentally the chemical compositions of the wetted and dewetted regions of an uncured epoxy thin film. Determining the composition of the dewetted region indicated the presence of a very thin sublayer of resin in what was thought to be a region devoid of resin. The capability of ToF-SIMS to probe small 65 x 65 microm(2) areas of the surface has permitted us to directly compare the SIMS spectra of the wetted and dewetted regions to the survey spectra of the reactants. This may indicate the strength of resin/silica interactions, which determine interface formation and properties.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284-3028, USA.
authors.forename: Dara L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Woerdeman
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Parnas
authors.forename: Rachel K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Giunta
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Wilkerson
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000737:chemistry*; D004852:Epoxy Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D012822:Silicon Dioxide