Preparation and characterization of transparent ZnO/epoxy nanocomposites with high-UV shielding efficiency

Transparent ZnO/epoxy nanocomposites with high-UV shielding efficiency were reported in this paper. First, zinc oxide (ZnO) precursor was synthesized via the homogeneous precipitation method and ZnO nanoparticles were then made by calcination of the precursor at different temperature. The structural properties of the as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles were studied in detail using thermogravimetry (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. Transparent ZnO/epoxy nanocomposites were subsequently prepared from transparent epoxy (EP-400) and as-prepared ZnO nanoparticles via in situ polymerization. Optical properties of ZnO/epoxy nanocomposites, namely visible light transparency and UV light shielding efficiency, were studied using an ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectrophotometer. The optical properties of the as-obtained nanocomposites were shown to depend on ZnO particle size and content. The nanocomposite containing a very low content (0.07% in weight) of ZnO nanoparticles with an average particle size of 26.7 nm after calcination at 350 °C possessed the most optimal optical properties, namely high-visible light transparency and high-UV light shielding efficiency, that are desirable for many important applications.