Systematic approach to the synthesis of organic-inorganic nanocomposites based on DMTA measurements and IR spectroscopy

Abstract

Sol-gel derived organic-inorganic hybrid materials with potential fields of application as refractive optical components for example laser diode bars and ophthalmic lenses are presented. The main components of the hybrid materials under investigation are precondensed methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTS, denoted: M) with an organically polymerisable methacrylic functionality and tetraethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (TEGDMA, denoted: T) as crosslinking organic monomer with two polymerisable double bonds. The molar ratios of the components ranged from M/T 10/90 up to M/T 70/30. The polymer derived from pure TEGDMA (M/T 0/100) served as a reference material. In addition to this nanoscaled TiO2 particles (5 wt.% and 10 wt.%) were incorporated in the organic-inorganic M/T 30/70 matrix to increase the refractive index of the resulting nanocomposites. For the preparation of the different systems, precondensed MPTS was mixed with TEGDMA, the nanoparticulate titania sol (when used), an appropriate photoinitiator and a thermoinitiator. The reaction mixtures were polymerised photochemically and/or thermally. The propagation of the free radical polymerisation reaction after photopolymerisation and subsequent thermal curing was followed by IR-spectroscopy, showing that the degree of double bond conversion is strongly increased by the thermal curing step. Incorporation of increasing amounts of TiO2 nanoparticles resulted in reduction of the double bond conversion compared to the corresponding unfilled system. The homogeneous dispersion of the titania particles in the completely cured M/T 30/70 matrix could be manifested by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HTEM). The thermomechanical properties of the completely cured nanocomposites were monitored by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) showing a strong dependence on composition.