Immobilizing a Fluorescent Dye Offers Potential to Investigate the Glass/Resin Interface

Published

January 1, 2000

Author(s)

Joseph~undefined~undefined~undefined~undefined~undefined Lenhart, J H. VanZanten, Joy Dunkers, C G. Zimba, C A. James, S K. Pollack, Richard~undefined~undefined~undefined~undefined~undefined Parnas

Abstract

Silane coupling agents are commonly applied to glass fibers to promote fiber/resin adhesion and enhance durability in composite parts. In this study, a coupling agent layer on glass was doped with trace levels of the dimethylaminonitrostilbene (DMANS) fluorophore. The fluorophore was immobilized on the glass surface by tethering the molecule to a triethoxy silane coupling agent, creating the DMANS/silane coupling agent molecule (DMSCA). DMSCA was then diluted with commonly used coupling agents and grafted to a glass microscope cover slip to create a model composite interface. A 53 nm blue shift in fluorescence from the immobilized DMSCA can be followed during cure of an epoxy resin over-layer, giving this technique potential to monitor the properties of the fiber/resin interface during composite processing. Contact angle measurements on these coupling agent layers were similar in the presence or absence of DMSCA molecule, suggesting that trace levels of the fluorescent probe did not affect the structure of the layer. The immobilized DMSCA molecule behaved similarly to the DMANS precursor in solution. Both showed longer wavelength fluorescence in more polar environments.

Citation

Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

Volume

221

Issue

No. 1

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

composite, cure, fluorescence, interface, sensor

Citation

Lenhart, J. , VanZanten, J. , Dunkers, J. , Zimba, C. , James, C. , Pollack, S. and Parnas, R. (2000), Immobilizing a Fluorescent Dye Offers Potential to Investigate the Glass/Resin Interface, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=851640 (Accessed October 9, 2025)