ABSTRACT
A probe tack test, coupled with in situ imaging, was used to evaluate the influence of an air plasma treatment on glass substrates on the fracture energy of nanostructured epoxy-amine resins. Nanostructuration was achieved by the addition of thermoplastic triblock copolymers. The influence of the surface treatment was assessed by splitting the fracture energy (tack energy) into three main contributions (cavitation, viscous flow, and stretch). We showed that before gelation, the interfacial strength depended on the nature of the copolymers and on their interaction with grafted functions (R-COOH and R-C=O) by air plasma treatment. The latter also influenced the cohesion of the resins, impacting the copolymers' phase separation and, as a consequence, conversion rate. The tack test, coupled with rheology and thermal (differential scanning calorimetry) measurements, was relevant to explain how the balance of interactions contributed to the fracture energy up to the gel point.
