Influence of drying procedure on glass transition temperature of PMMA based nanocomposites

Abstract

A literature review of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposites shows inconsistent results regarding the influence of the addition of nanofillers on the mobility of the system. In academic research, solvent based preparation methods are often used to prepare nanocomposites with the aim to obtain a good and controlled dispersion. However, little attention is paid to the influence of the used solvent on the properties of the nanocomposites. We show that in PMMA nanocomposites prepared via solution casting from different solvents, the apparent decrease in glass transition temperature is caused by insufficient drying and that when an adequate drying procedure is used, an increase in glass transition temperature is always observed.