A hybrid nanocomposite material has been obtained by in situ formation of an inorganic network in the presence of a preformed organic polymer. Chitosan biopolymer and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), which is the most common silica precursor, were used for the sol-gel reaction. The obtained composite chitosan-silica material has been characterized by physicochemical methods such as differential therma...

Nanocomposite of NiAl2O4/SiO2 (NAS) was prepared through insitu solgel reaction, in which NiAl2O4 nanocrystals were dispersed in the silica glassy matrix. The prepared dried NAS gel, at 338 K, was heat treated to different temperature and identified the temperature range (1083 – 1163 K) of the nanocomposite formation through XRD patterns. From XRD patterns, crystallite size of NiAl2O4 particles...

A significantly soft and tough nanocomposite gel was realized by a novel network formed using cyclodextrin-based polyrotaxanes. Covalent bond formation between the cyclic components of polyrotaxanes and the surface of silica nanoparticles (15 nm diameter) resulted in an infinite network structure without direct bonds between the main chain polymer and the silica. Small-angle X-ray scattering re...

The introduction of sulfonic acid modified silica in Nafion nanocomposite membranes is a good method of improving the Nafion performance at high temperature and low relative humidity. Sulfonic acid-modified silica is bifunctional, with silica phase expected to offer an improvement in membranes hydration while sulfonic groups enhance proton conductivity. However, as discussed in this paper, this...

Here we report the influence of the polyimide precursor type on the surface morphology and properties of poly(p-phenylene biphenyltetracarboximide) (BPDA-PDA PI)/silica hybrid composite films. Two types of precursor polymer were employed: poly(p-phenylene biphenyltetracarboxamic acid) (BPDA-PDA PAA) and poly(p-phenylene biphenyltetracarboxamic diethyl ester) (BPDA-PDA PES). These precursor poly...

Low-shrinkage resin-based photocurable liquid crystalline epoxy nanocomposite has been investigated with regard to its application as a dental restoration material. The nanocomposite consists of an organic matrix and an inorganic reinforcing filler. The organic matrix is made of liquid crystalline biphenyl epoxy resin (BP), an epoxy resin consisting of cyclohexylmethyl-3,4-epoxycyclohexanecarbo...

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), c-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (Z-6030), diethanolamine (DAM) and ammonium persulfate (APS) on the physical mechanical properties of polyacrylate/silica nanoco...

Bioactive PLLA/surface-grafted silica (g-SiO₂) nanocomposite scaffolds were fabricated by solid-liquid phase separation method. And solid PLLA/g-SiO₂ nanocomposite films were prepared by solution casting method. A series of parallel tube-like morphology and internal ladder-like structure of PLLA/g-SiO₂ nanocomposite scaffolds were observed by SEM. The formation of bone-like apatite in the simul...

This work focused on the influence of processing conditions on the mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) and PP/mesoporous silica-hydroxyapatite (PP/MCM-41-HA) hybrid nanocomposites. The mechanical properties of PP were enhanced by adding MCM-41-HA nanoparticles. Neat PP and hybrid nanocomposites based on PP, containing maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MA) and MCM-41-HA, were ...

The present study attempts to incorporate methacrylate-based polymers into ordered lamellar organic/inorganic nanocomposite films composed of alternating SiO2/polymer layers. The films are prepared by dip-coating from a solution containing the monomers and silica precursors, thus leading to composite lamellar mesostructured materials through evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). A polymeriz...