Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
The objective of this Small-Bus i ness Innovative Research (SBIR) effort is to expand on work reported previously [1] and further develop a new class of microcomposite materials which combine the outstanding properties of ordered polymers and the excellent compressive strength of glass. In Phase I we demonstrated adverse property changes in poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazole) (PBT) ordered polymer films by infiltrating sol-gel glass reagents. During Phase II we have addressed the following areas: sol-gel infiltration process; effect of sol-gel glass composition; tensile strength characterization, microcomposite UV resistance, lamination process, compressive strength determination. The following subsections present the work conducted to date.