Sol–gel encapsulation for power electronics utilizing 3-Glycidyloxypropyltriethoxysilane and 3-Mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane

3-Glycidyloxypropyltriethoxysilane and 3-Mercaptosilane were used to prepare a composite together with aluminum oxide. The compound is a potential candidate for being used as inorganic encapsulation. FTIR results paired with head-space analysis revealed a hardening of the composite at above 130 °C and degradation of the sol–gel-network above 150 °C. The adhesion of these compounds was tested via shear tests. It showed, that the addition of 3-Mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane enhanced the adhesion on silver significantly. This is attributed to the covalent nature of the Ag-S bond, which is forming as compared to the solely dispersive forces, when 3-Mercaptopropyltriethxysilane is not used. By conducting the shear test under temperature activation energies for the breakages were calculated. These coincide well with the binding energy of Ag-S in case silver surfaces are examined. In the case of a copper surface, a mixture of covalent and dipole–dipole interactions are found, since the activation energy for breakage is smaller as the Cu-O bond energy.