Surface modification of poly-(p-phenylene terephthalamide) pulp with a silane containing isocyanate group for silicone composites reinforcement

Abstract

A silane containing isocynate groups (3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl cyanic acid ester, NCO) associated with hexamethyldisilazane (HDMS) is used to modify the surface of poly-(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) pulps. As concerns surface chemistry, Attenuated Total Reflection Flourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirm that NCO associated with HDMS silylated PPTA pulp surface successfully. While the modified PPTA pulps are used as reinforcing fillers for silicone composites, the dispersibility and storage stability of the composites are improved as Mooney testing indicated. The silicone composites filled with modified PPTA pulps present a higher tensile strength and much higher broken elongation (3.30 MPa and 166.54%) than that with unmodified pulps (3.08 MPa and 68.47%), respectively.