Polymer Composites With Functionalized Silica

Improved mechanical properties and hydrophobicity on wood flour reinforced composites: Incorporation of silica/montmorillonite nanoparticles in polymers

“…Properties of filled polymers are strongly affected by various fillers (dispersed phase), and it can be controlled by changes in filler characteristics and concentrations. Particularly, the final properties of polymer composites are greatly affected by the dimensions and microstructure of the dispersed phase . Montmorillonite (MMT), as a low cost inorganic material, is widely used in polymer science and nanotechnology.…”

“…Particularly, the final properties of polymer composites are greatly affected by the dimensions and microstructure of the dispersed phase. [1,2] Montmorillonite (MMT), as a low cost inorganic material, is widely used in polymer science and nanotechnology. The layered structure of MMT allows many strategies to modification and to prepare a variety of hybrids and composites.…”

Effect of surface modification of colloidal silica nanoparticles on the rigid amorphous fraction and mechanical properties of amorphous polyurethane–urea–silica nanocomposites

“…silane coupling agents have been particularly widely used to achieve homogeneous dispersions of NPs in PNCs. 8 At the same time, many different polymer matrices, including epoxies, 9 olefins, 10 acrylates, 11 silicones, 12 and rubbers, 13 have been modified with functionalized inorganic NPs based, for example, on silica, 14 carbon, 15 silicates, 16 and metal oxides. 17 Depending on the nature of the matrix, NPs and surface modification, the corresponding PNCs may be produced by a range of processing techniques, such as melt compounding, 18 solution blending, 19 in situ polymerization, 20 liquid exfoliation, 21 or solvent exchange.…”

“…17 Depending on the nature of the matrix, NPs and surface modification, the corresponding PNCs may be produced by a range of processing techniques, such as melt compounding, 18 solution blending, 19 in situ polymerization, 20 liquid exfoliation, 21 or solvent exchange. 22 The considerable interest in silica NPs (SiO 2 NPs) to reinforce polymers 3,6,9,10,13,14,[23][24][25][26][27][28] is to a great extent due to ease with which their size distribution, structure, and surface chemistry may be controlled during or subsequent to synthesis. In general, silane coupling agents are preferred for the surface modification of SiO 2 NPs because of: (a) the higher stability of the resulting Si─O─Si bonds as compared to Si─O─M (where M is a metal such as Al, Ti, or Zr); (b) the availability of silanes with one, two, or three reactive groups able to interact with the silanol groups on the SiO 2 NPs; (c) the possibility of lateral "crosslinking" reactions between silanes with two or three reactive groups, which typically results in increased surface hydrophobicity.…”

“…In general, silane coupling agents are preferred for the surface modification of SiO 2 NPs because of: (a) the higher stability of the resulting Si─O─Si bonds as compared to Si─O─M (where M is a metal such as Al, Ti, or Zr); (b) the availability of silanes with one, two, or three reactive groups able to interact with the silanol groups on the SiO 2 NPs; (c) the possibility of lateral "crosslinking" reactions between silanes with two or three reactive groups, which typically results in increased surface hydrophobicity. 14 Numerous studies on PNCs containing silane-modified SiO 2 NPs have been described in the literature. 16 For example, Cheng et al investigated the dielectric behavior of γ-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane modified SiO 2 NPs in epoxybased nanocomposites.…”