Silanes agents available commercially

Solvent-free and solvent-based silane impregnating agents are commercially available. As a precautionary measure, application of silane-based impregnating agents should be avoided in direct sunlight, strong winds or in rain. To maximise the chances of success it is necessary to use a very high concentration of silane, up to 100% (Stockdale, 1991). 

A considerable range of silane coupling agent types are available commercially, or have been reported in the literature. A vast literature detailing their characteristics and performance also exists. A number of excellent reviews of these subjects are available [61, 68] and hence only the silane types most commonly met will be covered here together with limited examples of the effects they can produce. 

Many other functional silane coupling agents are available from commercial suppliers, including hydroxyl, aldehyde, acrylate and methacrylate, and anhydride compounds. Substrate modification procedures similar to those discussed above can be used with these reagents to link a biomolecule to an inorganic surface or particle. 

Illustrative commercially available silane coupling agents... 

Glass fibers and fabrics are commercially available with silane treatments. The resulting physical properties and the resistance of the composite to deterioration by water immersion are greatly enhanced by the addition of the coupling agent. Table 10.3 shows the effect of silanes on the dry and wet flexural strength of several composite materials. 

Researchers also used silane as a compatibilizing agent in the preparation of unsaturated polyester-clay nanocomposites [23]. A lot of commercially modified clays like the Closite series and Nanomer series are readily available in the market from Southern Clay Products and Nanomer Inc., respectively. 

With aromatic resins, such as those based on bisphenol-A, cured with aromatic or cyclic aliphatic hardeners, it is difficult to prevent gross phase separation without introducing an adequate level of alkoxysUane functionality in the epoxy resin. Many commercially available silane-coupling agents can be used for this purpose. 

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