Effect of Ammonia on Silicone Rubber-Glass Adhesion

The adhesion energy between silicone rubber and glass has been obtained from the Johnson, Kendall and Roberts' test. The specific effect of ammonia on the quasi-equilibrium value has been studied as a function of the degree of crosslinking of the elastomer. For PDMS networks with lower molecular weight between crosslinks, the effect is more pronounced but completely reversible. This has been related to the increase in the non-dispersive part of the surface energy of the silicone due to the imbibed ammonia. In incompletely crosslinked hydroxyl-terminated PDMS, ammonia has a catalytic effect and is responsible for chemical bonding between the unreacted hydroxyl groups of the PDMS and the hydroxyl groups on glass.