Immobilisation of different surface-modified silica nanoparticles on polymer surfaces via melt processing

Abstract

The immobilisation of silica nanoparticles on the surface of a flowing polymer melt is studied during injection moulding. We use silica nanoparticles of identical size of about 200nm, but with different surface functionalities: plain unmodified particles with silanole groups as well as amino- and hydrocarbon modified particles. The particles were brought in contact with a polycarbonate melt at a temperature of 300°C. In our investigation, we show that particles with polar surfaces are more embedded than those with non-polar surfaces. Immobilised polar particles exhibited also a higher adhesion, tested with an adhesive tape, whereas the non-polar particles can be easily removed by peeling off the adhesive tape. This paper reveals that surface properties have a larger influence on embedding of nanoparticles than thermal conditions due to cooling of the melt.