ESCA Studies of Laminated Safety Glass and Correlations with Measured Adhesive Forces

Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analyses (ESCA) has been used to examine surfaces of safety glass specimens. These specimens consisted of tin float glass laminated with plasticized polyvinyl butyral. ESCA was used to characterize the glass surface after the plasticized polyvinyl butyral had been peeled away. The results show clearly that the specimens fail cohesively and a layer of the plasticized polyvinyl butyral is left on the glass surface. The thickness of this layer was measured and was found to be directly proportional to the force of adhesion, measured as 90° peel strength.