The synthesis and characteristic study of 6FDA–6FHP–NLO polyimide/SiO2 nanohybrid materials

Hybrid nanocomposite films of silica (SiO2) in polyimide (PI) from 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic arhydride (6FDA), 2,2-Bis (3-amino-4-hydroxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane (6FHP) and nonlinear optical (NLO) molecule have been successfully fabricated by an in situ sol–gel process. The silica content in the hybrid films was varied from 0 to 22.5 wt%. These nanocomposite films exhibit fair good optical transparency. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy results confirm the formation of SiO2 particles in PI matrix. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images show that the SiO2 phase is well dispersed in the polymer matrix. Their glass transition behavior and thermal stability were investigated by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TG).