Influence of Boron Concentration on the Surface Properties of TEOS-PDMS Hybrid Materials

Abstract

The influence of the concentration of triethylborate (TEB) on the surface properties of hybrid materials prepared from tetraethylortosilicate (TEOS) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has been studied. TEB concentration has been varied between 0 and 30 wt.% respect to the total amount of alkoxyde whereas PDMS concentration has been set at 40 wt.% in all the hybrid samples. Pore size distributions (PSDs), specific surface areas (SSAs) and surface energies have been determined for such materials. PSDs have shown that pore size and pore volume increase with the amount of TEB forming the hybrid, whereas SSAs decrease. Surface energies have been determined by inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution (IGC-ID) and have been divided into dispersive and specific surface energies. It was also found that TEB affects to both, dispersive and specific surface energies. Dispersive surface energy values increase from 23.23 mJ⋅m−2 for the pure TEOS-PDMS hybrid sample to 31.07 mJ⋅m−2 for the 30wt.% TEB-containing material. This increase has been attributed to the enhanced polarizability of the TEOS-PDMS hybrid when TEB is incorporated into the structure, a result which is consistent with the composition and structural characterization of the studied hybrid materials. Acid and base (kA, kB) surface constants also evidence a correlation with the TEB concentration: kA decreases and kB increases with the increase of TEB in these hybrids, a result which has been assigned to the lower acidity of boranol groups respect to that of silanols. The formation of an hybrid structure of Si–O–Si(PDMS) and B–O–Si(PDMS) bonds has been confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy by the presence of a band at 850 cm−1 and a shoulder between 930 and 880 cm−1, respectively.