Material and rheological properties of (glycidoxypropyl) trimethoxysilane modified colloidal silica coatings

Colloidal coating solution was prepared to enhance the hydrophilic property of the film surface. Water and ethanol were used as the dispersion media and (glycidoxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (GPS) as a binder in the colloidal silica coatings. Ethylene diamine was added to the colloidal silica solution as the curing agent. The colloidal silica solution was regarded as a hard-sphere suspension model with low volume fraction of the silica particles. Rheological properties of the silica suspensions modified with GPS have been investigated as a function of pH and concentration. The acidic solution showed high viscosity change by fast hydrolysis reaction and adsorption of the organic binders on the surface of silica particles. However, the hydrolysis was slow at the basic condition and the binders combined with themselves by condensation. The viscosity change was smallest at pH 7. The viscosity increased with the curing time after adding ethylenediamine, and the increase of viscosity at low pH was higher than that at high pH. The hydrophilic properties of the coating film were investigated by the contact angle of water and film surface. The smallest contact angle was shown under the strong acidic condition of pH 2.