Use of electrospinning to disperse nanosilica into silicone rubber

Nanomaterials have attracted considerable attention due to their unique physicochemical properties. However, agglomerations of nanofillers in nanocomposites have hindered the potential improvements to their properties. A novel technique of infusing nanosilica into silicone rubber with reduced agglomeration is reported in this paper. The technique involves electrospinning of silicone fibers, embedded with nanosilica, and incorporating the fibers into silicone rubber. Compared to high shear mechanical mixing, a larger volume fraction of nanosilica can be dispersed more uniformly into silicone rubber by electrospinning. The morphology of nanosilica composites was characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy and thermal heating tests using an infrared laser suggest an improvement to the thermal conductivity. These results suggest that electrospinning can tear apart particle agglomerations thereby improving the dispersion of nanoparticles into silicone rubber matrix.