Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
1568-5616
abstract
In many buildings, a continuous glass closure is employed to cover external aluminium profiles, leaving a complete glass façade. To obtain such a structural glazing, a silicone material is generally used. This research has studied silicone-glass adhesion, and the influence of atmospheric plasma treatments on this adhesion. Two different fully transparent silicone materials have been used: neutral silicone (usually used as sealant) and acid silicone (used as adhesive) for glass applications.The plasma treatments were carried out at two different speeds (10 and 1 m/min), and the surfaces were studied by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Moreover, the change in surface with time after treatment (up to 7 days) was also evaluated. Silicone was cured on the glass for 7 days before mechanical testing. Adhesion tests were carried out for both untreated and treated glasses following ASTM D 4541 standard procedure to measure the bond strength.In the glass, two different bonds are present: Si-O− (non-bridging oxygen bond) and Si-O-Si (bridging oxygen bond), and these were characterized using the Si2p, Si2s, and O1s XPS peaks. With plasma treatment, the relative percentages of these bonds change, with increase in the amount of bridging oxygen bonds. Adhesion tests showed a reduction in bond strength in treated glasses.