Rheological Behavior of a Novel Organic–Inorganic Hybrid: Micro/Nano-Tin Fluorophosphate Glass-Polycarbonate

Abstract

The rheological behavior of a novel, binary organic-inorganic hybrid consisting of an ultra-low Tg tin fluorophosphate glass (Pglass) and polycarbonate (PC) was investigated using oscillatory rheometry. It was found that the complex viscosity of the hybrid showed Pglass content dependence. Under low Pglass content (10-30%), the complex viscosity of the hybrid was lower than that of pure PC. While the complex viscosity was dramatically increased and higher than that of pure PC with the content of Pglass above 30%. This phenomenon was particularly remarkable at low frequencies. Besides, with the addition of Pglass the hybrid material exhibited shear-thinning behavior and the shear-thinning characteristics became more obvious with the enhancement of the Pglass content, indicating the presence of nonlinear chemical and physical interactions between the hybrid components. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements revealed that increasing the content of Pglass caused a decrease of the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the hybrids, suggesting that Pglass was acting as a macromolecular plasticizer for the PC. The microstructure of the Pglass in the hybrid material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the Pglass were dispersed as micro- and nano-bead in the continuous phase of PC and the Pglass appeared aggregation partly with the increase of the Pglass content. This contribution was anticipated to be a guideline for the processing of this promising new class of hybrid materials.

Structural Studies of NaPO3–AlF3 Glasses by High-Resolution Double-Resonance Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

“…They combine the favorable optical properties of fluoride glasses with the higher mechanical and thermal stability of phosphate glasses. Aluminum-containing fluoride phosphate glasses − have attracted considerable attention as matrices for rare-earth dopants for active lasers, amplifier glasses, and for photoluminescence in the visible region. − In addition, nanoparticle-containing systems, inorganic–organic hybrid systems, and biomaterials are being studied . The goal of tailoring the particular properties of these attractive glasses requires a comprehensive understanding of their structural organization.…”

The enhancement mechanism of flowability and modulus of PET/TFP‐glass composites

“…Some researchers [13,15] have demonstrated that the TFP-glass can enhance the flowability of polar polymer. As can be seen from Fig.…”

“…And the reason will be discussed in "The enhancement mechanism of flowability". Furthermore, with the increase of TFP-glass, the composite exhibits more obvious shear-thinning behavior, which may attribute to the nonlinear chemical and physical interactions between the hybrid components [13,15].…”

“…On the other hand, TFP-glass, which has higher intrinsic modulus [12], can be used as conventional reinforcing fillers. Therefore, TFP-glass can be used to prepare organic polar polymer/inorganic glass composites [13][14][15][16][17][18] with low viscosity and high modulus. However, the mechanism involved is still unrevealed, so it is very meaningful to study the enhancement mechanism of flowability and modulus of TFP-glass/polar polymer composites.…”

“…Obviously, there is no intractable viscosity and dispersity problem which usually accompanies with composites processing with fillers such as talc, clay and glass fiber . Moreover, when the TFP‐glass is added to the polar polymer (PA6 , PC ), the flowability of composites can be further enhanced by nonlinear chemical and physical interactions between the hybrid components. On the other hand, TFP‐glass, which has higher intrinsic modulus , can be used as conventional reinforcing fillers.…”