This book is an extended version of the proceedings of the Symposium on
Polymer Composites, Interfaces, which was held under the auspices of the
Division of Polymer Chemistry, American Chemical Society (ACS) during
the annual ACS meeting in Seattle, March, 1983. The importance of the
interface in composite materials has been recognized since the inception
of modern composite technology. Specifically, silane coupling agents
were developed for glass fiber reinforced compOSites at a very early
date. Ever since then the diversity of composite materials and the
development of various surface treatment methods have led to the
establishment of an "interface art." A trial-and-error approach has
dominated the interfacial aspects of composite technology until very
recently. With the advent of modern analytical techniques for surface
characterization, it became possible to study detailed surface and
interface structures. It was hoped that this symposium would catalyze
such a fundamental and scientific approach in composite studies. For
this reason, the symposium was structured to verify the influence of
interfacial structures on the mechanical and physical performance of
composites and to improve our knowledge of the microstructure of
composite interfaces. As the word -composite" indicates,
interdisciplinary interaction is indispensable for proper understanding
of multiphase systems.