Preparation and characterization of acrylic modified-silica nanocomposite coating via miniemulsion polymerization

Hybrid latex particles of acrylic-modified silica nanoparticles were prepared via miniemulsion polymerization. In order to create compatibility between inorganic and polymer phases, surface modification of SiO2 nanoparticles was performed with methylene bisphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with an optimized procedure for the first time. FTIR analysis showed successful surface modification of SiO2 nanoparticles. The compatibility of the phases and dispersibilty of nanoparticles in polymer matrix, influence the physico-mechanical properties of nanocomposite coating. Physico-mechanical properties of the obtained nanocomposite films contain 0-10 wt% modified SiO2 nanoparticles were studied by DMTA. It was found that using only 7 wt% of modified SiO2 improved those properties of resulting films remarkably