| Abstract: | For a fundamental approach to glass fibres for composite applications, it is essential to develop efficient methods to analyse the composition and distribution of the sizing layer on the glass filaments. We have been investigating the use of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) as a tool for the rapid characterization of the sizing and interphase in glass fibre reinforcements. In this report we present and discuss a model, based on a patchy sizing overlayer hypothesis, to assist the data reduction of XPS spectra from glass fibres coated with organic sizings. We show how plots of atomic ratios can be used to estimate the surface coverage of the sizing on glass fibres and to obtain information on the stoichiometry of the sizing. The results generated using this model are in good agreement with previously published data. Using this model, we show that XPS results combined with the weight fraction of the sizing give a quantitative value for the coverage of the fibre surface by the sizing. |
