Enhancement of impact strength of poly (methyl methacrylate) with surface fine-tuned nano-silica

Abstract

Highly dispersible nanoparticles in organic solvent always receive wide interests due to their compatibility with polymer materials. This paper reported a kind of isopropanol alcohol silica dispersion which obtained using a method of azeotropic distillation. The isopropanol alcohol dispersed silica (IPADS) were treated with coupling agents to fine-tune their surface properties. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was then used as a research object to test the compatibility between IPADS and polymer. UV-vis spectra indicate that IPADS would reach its high compatibility with PMMA if coupling with trimethoxypropylsilane (PTMS). Followed experiments on PMMA proved that the high compatibility can prominently enhance the impact strength about 30%. The results may provide reference both for nano-silica modification and better understanding of nano-enhanced materials.