Compositions of silane soluble in water, and a process for the treatment of fibrous materials, glass

摘要

Glass fibres are sized by applying thereto an aqueous solution containing at least 0.6 per cent of a vinyl silane of the formula FORM:0796574/IV (b)/1 where R is methyl or ethyl, x is 0-2 and n is 2-7, together with a catalytic amount of a material which imparts to the solution a pH other than 7, and heating the treated fibres to cure the vinyl silane. The treated fibres are particularly useful for forming into laminates with resins. Specific vinyl silanes are vinyl tris - (2 - methoxyethoxy) silane, vinyl tris-(methoxydiethyleneglycoxy) silane, monomethoxypolyethyleneglycoxydiethoxyvinyl silane and vinyl bis-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethoxy silane. Suitable catalysts are salts, soaps and chelates, and, e.g., NaOH, KOH, Na2CO3, CaO, NH4OH, diethanolamine, quaternary ammonium hydroxides, zirconium oxychloride, hydrochloric acid and trifluoracetic acid. Specification 755,760 is referred to.ALSO:The invention comprises vinyl silanes of the formula: FORM:0796574/IV (a)/1 where R is methyl or ethyl, x is from 0 to 2 and n is from 2 to 7. They may be prepared by directly esterifying the vinyl chlorosilane with a slight excess of hydroxyl-contining alkylene oxide, or by transesterifying a vinyl alkoxy silane, preferably using a catalyst. In the examples: (1) vinyl tris-(2-methoxyethoxy) silane is prepared by refluxing vinyltriethoxy silane with ethylene glycol monomethyl ether in toluene, using potassium silanolate as catalyst, followed by fractionation at reduced pressure. Vinyl bis-(2-methoxyetoxy) ethoxy silane is also obtained; (2) and (3) vinyl tris-(methoxydiethylene glycoxy)silane is prepared from vinyltrichlorosilane and diethylene glycol monomethyl ether. Some polymers are also formed; (4) monomethoxypolyethyleneglycoxydiethoxyvinyl silane is prepared from vinyltriethoxy silane and a methoxypolyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of about 350, using trifluoroacetic acid as catalyst. The product corresponds to the above formula in which x is 1.33, n is 7 and R is methyl. The compounds are used for sizing glass fibres when they are applied as aqueous solutions containing at least 0.6 per cent of the silane together with a catalyst and cured after air-drying of the fibres. Suitable catalysts are NaOH, KOH, Na2CO3, CaO, NH4OH, diethanolamine, quaternary ammonium hydroxides, zirconium oxychloride, hydrochloric acid and trifluoracetic acid. Specification 755,760 is referred to.