Thermo-mechanical properties of waterborne acrylate hybrid nanocomposites

Abstract

Waterborne acrylate hybrid nanocomposites containing 1 wt% nanoparticles were synthesized by in situ polymerization using SiO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles. The synthesized latex hybrids were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, uniaxial tension, nano-indentation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Films drawn from the latex exhibited excellent optical transparency and no evidence of aggregation was detected by SEM and X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis confirmed the presence of silica and iron throughout the films. The thermal properties showed a decrease of the glass transition temperature in the presence of Fe2O3 nanoparticles as demonstrated by the dynamic mechanical analysis. The nano-SiO2 induced significantly higher thermal stability, as decomposition temperatures of the nanocomposites increases by as much as 40 °C relative to the neat acrylic. On the other hand, the Young’s modulus and hardness of the nanocomposites films decrease about 30 and 65%, denoting a modification of macromolecular dynamic by the SiO2 and Fe2O3 nanoparticles, respectively.