Web Release Date: March 14,
Beads Mill-Assisted Synthesis of Poly Methyl Methacrylate (PMMA)-TiO2 Nanoparticle Composites
and
Kotobuki Industries Co., Ltd., 1-2-43 Hiroshiratake, Kure, Hiroshima., 737-0144, Japan, Department of Chemical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan, and Department of Energy, Environmental, & Chemical Engineering, Washington University in Saint Louis, Campus Box 1180, One Brookings Dr., Saint Louis, Missouri, 63130
Received for review August 6, 2007
Revised manuscript received February 1, 2008
Accepted February 8, 2008
Abstract:
A newly developed beads mill was used to create well-dispersed suspensions of TiO2 (titania) nanoparticles in methyl methacrylate (MMA) and TiO2-PMMA nanocomposites were synthesized by subsequent polymerization of the TiO2-MMA suspension. Beads milling successfully broke up titania nanoparticle agglomerates with the addition of the coupling agent (3-acryloxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMOS) to the titania-MMA suspension. Agglomerated particles were broken up into primary particles as small as 10 nm in suspensions with nanoparticle mass fractions as high as 0.05. Well-dispersed suspensions of titania nanoparticles had reduced UV transmission but visible light transmittance similar to pure MMA. TEM images showed that the milled nanoparticles remained well dispersed in titania-PMMA nanocomposites, and the addition of titania nanoparticles to PMMA increased the PMMA thermal stability. Spin-coated titania-PMMA films had higher refractive indices than pure PMMA films, with film of higher titania weight percent having higher refractive indices.
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