Polyacrylate/silica nanocomposite materials prepared by sol–gel process

Polyacrylate/silica nanocomposite was prepared by sol–gel process via in situ emulsion polymerization. The influence of the synthetic conditions, such as the ratio of different monomers and the contents of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (Z-6030), diethanolamine (DAM) and ammonium persulfate (APS) on the physical mechanical properties of polyacrylate/silica nanocomposite was investigated in details. Dynamics Laser Scattering (DLS) indicated that the average diameter of the polyacrylate/silica latex particles (177 nm) was bigger than that of the pure polyacrylate latex particles (105.3 nm), but the ζ potential of polyacrylate/silica was decreased respectively in contrast to that of the polyacrylate. Differential Scanning Calorimeters (DSC) analysis confirmed that the glass transition temperature of polyacrylate/nano-SiO2 (Tg = −24 °C) was higher than that of polyacrylate (Tg = −36 °C). UV analysis showed that the UV absorbency of polyacrylate/silica was improved evidently in contrast to that of polyacrylate.