Preparation of High Refractive index Materials using ZrO₂ Nanoparticles and Glyceryl-<i>N</i>-(2-methacryloyloxyethyl)urethane and Its Properties

Abstract

We established the metal-oxide nanoparticles dispersion technology using Glyceryl-N -(2-methacryloyloxyethyl) urethane (GLYMOU R ⃝) with high affinity for the inorganic materials, such as zirconia (ZrO2), titania (TiO2), and silica (SiO2). The high refractive index optical films were prepared by using ZrO2nanoparticles (grain size: 3 nm) and GLYMOU R ⃝. The films were colorless and transparent. As a ZrO2 concentration increased up to 80 wt%, refractive index showed 1.70 at wavelength of 589 nm. Solid-state NMR and first density functional theory (DFT) study confirmed that GLYMOU R ⃝ was strongly coordinated to the ZrO2 surfaces with hydroxyl groups and urethane bond. The dispersion state of nanoparticles in the hybrid films was investigated by combination of grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). GISAXS measurements and TEM observations, ZrO2 nanoparticles were finely dispersed in the poly-GLYMOU R ⃝ matrices.