Effect of surface modification of titanium dioxide on the UV‐C aging behavior of silicone rubber

Abstract

ABSTRACTSurface modification of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) by silane coupling agents and the ultraviolet‐C (UV‐C) aging behavior of silicone rubber (SiR) incorporated with the modified TiO2 NPs were investigated in this work. The SiR samples incorporated with TiO2 NPs displayed excellent stability against the UV‐C radiation. In order to improve the dispersion of TiO2 NPs in the SiR matrix, the surface of TiO2 NPs was modified with 3‐aminopropyl triethoxysilane and 3‐trimethoxysilyl propyl methacrylate, respectively. The surface modification of TiO2 NPs was characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The dispersion stability of the pristine TiO2 NPs and surface silane‐modified TiO2 NPs was evaluated in an organic solvent (toluene). Effect of surface modified TiO2 NPs on the UV‐C aging behavior of SiR was evaluated in terms of the change of surface morphology, tensile properties, hardness, crosslinking density, and surface microstructure before and after the UV‐C aging. The results showed that surface modification of TiO2 NPs with silane coupling agents could improve the dispersion of TiO2 NPs in the SiR matrix. Moreover, the SiR with modified TiO2 NPs showed an improved aging resistance to the UV‐C radiation, compared with the samples with pristine TiO2 NPs. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47170.