Organic/inorganic nanocomposites prepared by mechanical smashing of agglomerated silica ultrafine particles in molten thermoplastic resin

Abstract

AbstractA new approach for the preparation of organic/inorganic nanocomposites was investigated in which nano‐sized silica particles without surface modification were dispersed by the mechanical smashing of strength‐controlled porous silica agglomerates in molten resin during direct melt‐compounding. The method consists of two stages. The first stage involves preparation of the strength‐controlled agglomerated silica nanoparticles with pore structure, and the second stage involves melt‐compounding of a thermoplastic resin with the silica agglomerates prepared in the first stage. In the first stage, on the basis of the theory of stability of an aqueous colloidal silica solution, the pore structure and the fracture strength of the silica agglomerate could be controlled by pH‐control and electrolyte ion‐addition to the colloidal solutions of silica nanoparticles. In the next stage, primary silica nanoparticles could be dispersed in some matrix resins such as a poly(ethylene‐ran‐vinyl alcohol) and polystyrene uniformly by the proposed mechanical approach by the use of the high shear stress acting on porous silica agglomerates inside these melt‐compounded resins. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.