Abstract
TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) modified with oleyl phosphate were synthesized through stable Ti–O–P bonds and were utilized to prepare poly(methyl methacrylate)‐ (PMMA‐) based hybrid thin films via the ex situ route for investigation of their optical properties. After surface modification of TiO2 NPs with oleyl phosphate, IR and 13C CP/MAS NMR spectroscopy showed the presence of oleyl groups. The solid‐state 31P MAS NMR spectrum of the product revealed that the signal due to oleyl phosphate (OP) shifted upon reaction, indicating formation of covalent Ti–O–P bonds. The modified TiO2 NPs could be homogeneously dispersed in toluene, and the median size was 16.1 nm, which is likely to be sufficient to suppress Rayleigh scattering effectively. The TEM images of TiO2/PMMA hybrid thin films also showed a homogeneous dispersion of TiO2 NPs, and they exhibited excellent optical transparency even though the TiO2 content was 20 vol%. The refractive indices of the OP‐modified TiO2/PMMA hybrid thin films changed higher with increases in TiO2 volume fraction, and the hybrid thin film with 20 vol% of TiO2 showed the highest refractive index (n = 1.86).
Highlights
Transparent materials with high refractive indices have been extensively required for numerous applications, including optical devices, lenses, antireflective coatings, and waveguides [1,2,3]
We report the preparation of Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based hybrid thin films by incorporating TiO2 NPs modified with oleyl phosphate (OP) via the ex situ route
OP was covalently bound to the surfaces of TiO2 NPs to prepare TiO2/PMMA hybrid thin films with high refractive indices
Summary
Transparent materials with high refractive indices have been extensively required for numerous applications, including optical devices, lenses, antireflective coatings, and waveguides [1,2,3]. In these applications, synthetic polymers have been employed as optical materials exhibiting excellent formability and tunable chemical and physical properties. One important issue in the preparation of transparent TiO2/polymer hybrids is the suppression of Rayleigh scattering at the interfaces between inorganic components and polymer matrices. TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) of desirable size, below 40 nm, as high refractive inorganic fillers, should be employed in the preparation of transparent polymer-based hybrids.
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