CRACK GROWTH MECHANISMS IN SOL-GEL ADHESIVE COUPLING LAYERS

摘要

Sol-gel derived adhesive coupling layers are frequently employed to create highly durable metal/polymer bonds. The unique properties of these thin films derive from their molecular structure that can bond to both oxide and organic surfaces. Further understanding of the inherent fracture properties of these types of films as well as a deeper understanding of how molecular structure controls these properties will enable further advancement of high-performance adhesive technology. We discuss experimental methods to directly characterize the fracture properties of thin sol-gel films under fatigue loading and present fatigue crack growth data for a ZrO_x/epoxysilane sol-gel film. Additionally, we present computational tools to investigate the link between molecular structure and resulting fracture properties.