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Preparation and property of raspberry‐like AS/SiO 2 nanocomposite particles
Author(s) -
Zhang Hong,
Su Zhixing,
Liu Peng,
Zhang Fangzhi
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.25172
Subject(s) - nanocomposite , materials science , thermogravimetric analysis , differential scanning calorimetry , dynamic light scattering , glass transition , nanometre , chemical engineering , particle size , transmission electron microscopy , nanoparticle , polymer chemistry , composite material , nanotechnology , polymer , physics , engineering , thermodynamics
Surfactant‐free poly(acrylonitrile‐ co ‐styrene)/silica (AS/SiO 2 ) nanocomposite particles was synthesized in the presence of cheap, commercially amorphous aqueous silica sol at ambient temperature. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated silica contents ranging from 5 wt % to 29 wt %, depending on reaction conditions. Particle size distributions and morphologies were studied using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which clearly showed that most of the colloidal nanocomposites comprised approximately spherical particle with raspberry‐like morphology and relatively narrow size distributions. The optical clarity of solution‐cast nanocomposite films was assessed using UV–vis spectrometer, with high transmission being obtained over the whole visible spectrum. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies showed that the glass transition temperature of AS/SiO 2 nanocomposites can be higher than the corresponding pure AS, resulting from the hydrophilicity of the nanometer silica. The robustness and simplicity of this method may make large‐scale manufacture of this nanocomposite possible. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 415–421, 2007