Secondary neutral mass spectrometry studies of germanium-silane coupling agent-polymer interphases

This communication reports the results of an investigation of the germanium-silane-polymer interphase using secondary neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS). The goal of these studies was to gain an understanding of the factors which control the adhesion of polymers to metals or semi-metals. Interdiffusion of the silane coupling agent and the polymer is believed to play an important role in the promotion of adhesion of polymers using silane coupling agents. In this study we have obtained evidence of the interdiffusion of a silane coupling agent, N-(2-aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, and a polymer, polystyrene, by probing the germanium-silane-polymer interfacial region with this emerging spectroscopic technique.