Synthesis of colloidal polyoxazoline/silica hybrids prepared in an aqueous solution

New colloidal polymer hybrids with polyoxazolines such as poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) (PMeOZO) and poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOZO) were obtained in an aqueous solution as a sol–gel solvent. The polyoxazoline segment was incorporated into the siliceous particle and formed strong hydrogen bonds with silanol moieties, judging from TGA and FT-IR studies. Colloidal polymer hybrids exhibited no glass transition temperature of the polyoxazoline and showed excellent thermal stability and solvent-resistant property. Porous silica obtained by charring the colloidal polymer hybrids at 600 °C exhibited the peak at 3.5 Å. These results strongly indicate the homogeneous molecular scale dispersion of polyoxazoline in the colloidal silica gel matrix.