Nanostructures and Surface Dewettability of Epoxy Thermosets Containing Hepta(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl) Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane-Capped Poly(ethylene Oxide)

Abstract

Hepta(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl) polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS)-capped poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was synthesized via the reaction of hydrosilylation between hepta(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)hydrosilsesquioxane and allyl-terminated PEO. The POSS-capped PEO was characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The organic-inorganic amphiphile was incorporated into epoxy resin to prepare the organic-inorganic nanostructured thermosetting composites. The morphology of the hybrid composites was characterized with field emission scanning electronic microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electronic microscopy (TEM). The formation of nanostructures was addressed on the basis of miscibility and phase behavior of the sub-components (viz. POSS and PEO chains) of the organic-inorganic amphiphile with epoxy after and before curing reaction. The static contact angle measurements indicate that the organic-inorganic nanocomposites displayed a significant enhancement in surface hydrophobicity as well as reduction in surface free energy. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed that there is significant migration of the POSS moiety at the surface of the thermosets. The improvement in surface properties was ascribed to the enrichment of the POSS moiety on the surface of the nanostructured thermosets, which was evidenced by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Structure-Gas Transport Property Relationships of Poly(dimethylsiloxane-urethane) Nanocomposite Membranes

“…TEM imaging POSS domains were darker than the polymer matrix because of their higher mass contrast in comparison with polynorborene-imide chains. This observation also showed that the discreetly sized POSS cage aggregates were well dispersed within the bulk polymer (Zeng and Zheng, 2007). Fig.…”

Interfacial interactions in PTT–PTMO/polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) nanocomposites and their impact on mechanical, thermal, and dielectric properties

“…This is a direct result of POSS's nanoscopic size and its relationship to polymer dimensions. Nonetheless, POSS improves product performance (reduces the flammability, heat discharge, and viscosity of the polymer [7][8][9][10]) while retaining its lightweight and ductile features, without sacrificing mechanical properties (may cause an increase of strength, modulus, rigidity) and is used in a wide variety of applications, e.g., drug delivery, polymer electrolytes, thermoplastic, and thermosetting polymers [11][12][13][14]. However, the properties of polymer nanocomposites containing POSS nanostructures depend on the successful incorporation of POSS particles in polymer matrices.…”

Influence of the functionality of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane–POSS containing glycidyl groups on the dispersion and interaction with epoxy nanocomposites

“…Viscoelastic properties were characterized by a Q800 AT DMA apparatus with a single-cantilever clamp using rectangular specimens of 35 3 10 3 2 mm 3 . The characterization of the specimens was performed under the following conditions: heating from room temperature (238C) to 1608C at a heating rate of 38C min…”