Synthesis of Polymer/Silica Hybrid Nanocomposites Prepared by the Sol-Gel Method

Abstract

The organic-inorganic hybrid nanocomposites were successfully obtained by the sol-gel process with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as an inorganic networking precursor and 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) as the nonsurfactant template in the presence of benzil initiator. The characteristics of the obtained hybrid were examined by means of TGA, FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The synthesized HEMA/SiO2 hybrid was nearly transparent, monolithic, and monodispersed with the average size of 25 nm. It was found that the hybrid structure could be defined by intertwining organic and inorganic polymeric networks.