Polymer/SWN nanocomposites were synthesized in the soap-free emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using 2-hydroxylethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The SWN in the polymer/SWN nanocomposites was individually dispersed in water, and these are adsorbed on the surface of monomer droplets. Polymer/SWN nanocomposites were obtained by adding an aqueous dispersion of layered silicate to the polymer emulsion. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FT-IR spectra were utilized to characterize the structures of the nanocomposites. The degree of dispersion of these nanocomposites was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, the thermal and mechanical properties of polymer/SWN nanocomposites were determined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The increased tanδ of the obtained nanocomposites is caused by the fine dispersion of SWN particles into the polymer matri

This work successfully prepared an UV curable organic-inorganic hybrid material consisting of organic modified colloidal silica. Applications of UV curable organic-inorganic hybrid materials include abrasion resistant coatings, photo-patternable thin films and waveguides. Colloidal silica containing reactive functional groups were also prepared by reacting organic silane and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) using sol-gel process. In addition, the efficiency of grafting organic moiety onto silica nanoparticles was investigated by applying TGA and FTIR techniques. Experimental results indicated a strong interdependence between surface modification efficiency and solution pH. Acrylate-SiO2 hybrid formation could result in a shifting of thermal degradation temperature of organic component from about 200°C to near 400°C. In addition, the stability of organic modified colloidal silica in UV curable formula and the physical properties of resulting coatings were discussed. Furthermore, the morphology of organic modified colloidal silica was investigated by performing TEM and SEM studies‥