Novel copolymer for SiO2 nanoparticles dispersion

High performance polymers exhibiting multifunctional characteristics can be achieved by the introduction of inorganic nanoparticles like SiO2 into the functional polymers. In the present work a copolymer epoxy poly(dimethylacrylamide) was synthesized to disperse the SiO2 nanoparticles. The aim of the work is to develop a new method/process/material for the dispersion of nanoparticles and evaluating the performance of these composites. FT-IR studies of the polymer adsorbed SiO2 nanoparticles confirmed that the polymer molecules chain was anchored on the surface of the SiO2 nanoparticles. The improved interfacial interaction between the particles and polymer enhanced the thermal properties of the composites. The results also show the newly synthesized polymer disperse the nanoparticles well as evidenced by SEM analysis, the uniformly dispersed SiO2 nanoparticles in the polymer matrix and the particles almost remained in their original shape and size even after incorporation in to the polymer matrix.Contract grant sponsors: Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal and Department of Science and Technology (DST), Post Doctoral Fellowship (to V.S.G.)