Ppg Industries, Inc.

George V Sanzero

Ronald E Betts

Richard P Beaver

Howard J Hudson

David T Melle

Lin-Chang Chiang

Chemically treated glass fibers having good processability are useful in producing fiber reinforced polymeric matrices, wherein the glass fibers have good wettability and are not detrimental to the weatherability of the fiber reinforced polymeric matrices. The chemically treated fibers have the dried residue of an aqueous chemical treating composition having at least a bisphenol A polyester film forming polymer compatible with and soluble in the matrix polymer, acryloxy-containing or methacryloxy-containing organo coupling agent in an effective coupling agent amount, cationic fiberous lubricant in an effective lubricating amount, with an antistatic agent that is a cationic organic quaternary ammonium salt having alkoxy moieties, and water in an amount to give a total solids for the aqueous chemical treating composition in the range of about 1 to about 30 weight percent. The aqueous chemical treating composition is essentially free of inorganic antistatic agents. In addition, the aqueous chemical treating composition can have one or more strand hardening agents such as melamine formaldehyde resin. The amount of the organic quatenary ammonium antistatic agent generally is in the range of from 0.05 to around 0.4 weight percent of the aqueous chemical treating composition. The chemically treated glass fibers can be produced in any form such as chopped strand or continuous strand for combination with polymeric matrices including both filled and unfilled systems for producing reinforced polymeric matrices such as glass fiber reinforced polymeric panels which can be clear, translucent or pigmented.

Chemically treated glass fibers for reinforcing polymeric materials

Biochemically active material is immobilized on porous silica-rich glass fibers having a diameter of about 3 to 150 microns, a length of about 0.03 inch to continuous fiber length, a mean pore diameter in the range of about 10 to 3000 angstroms, a pore volume of about 0.5 to 1.5 cc/gm and a surface area of about 10 to 600 m.sup.2 /gm. The porous glass fibers are preferably formed from a composition containing greater than 35 up to 60 weight percent B.sub.2 O.sub.3, about 1 to 10 weight percent alkali metal oxides, about 30 to 65 weight percent SiO.sub.2, up to about 5 weight percent ZrO.sub.2, and up to about 4 weight percent Al.sub.2 O.sub.3. Fibers having the composition are heated to cause phase separation into a boron-rich phase and a silica-rich phase, and are then treated by water and acid leaching to produce the porous glass fibers. A biochemically active material is attached to the fibers by absorption or by covalent bonding with a linking agent.

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New Kensington, PA, United States of America

George V Sanzero