Incorporation of Nanohybrid Films of Silica into Recycled Polystyrene Matrix

Abstract

An alternative for the reutilization of polystyrene waste containers consisting in creating a hybrid material made of SiO2 nanoparticles embedded in a matrix of recycled polystyrene (PSR) has been developed. Recycled polystyrene functionalized (PSRF) was used to influence the morphological and antifog properties by the sol-gel synthesis of nanohybrid silica. To this end, silica nanoparticles were produced from alkoxide precursors in the presence of recycled polystyrene. The functionalization of this polymeric matrix was with the purpose of uniting in situ carboxyl and silanol groups during the sol-gel process. In this way, opaque or transparent solid substrates can be obtained, with each of these endowed with optical conditions that depend on the amount of reactants employed to prepare each nanohybrid specimen. The nanohybrids were labelled as SiO2/PSR (HPSR) and SiO2/PSRF (HPSRF) and their properties were then compared to those of commercial polystyrene (PS). All the prepared samples were used for coating glass substrates. The hydrophobicity of the resultant coatings was determined through contact angle measurement. The nanohybrid materials were characterized by FT-IR and 1H-NMR techniques. Additionally, TGA and SEM were employed to determine their thermal and textural properties.