Synthesis and characterization of hybrid nanocomposites comprising poly(vinyl alcohol) and colloidal silica

Abstract

Abstract Organic–inorganic hybrid composite films were developed using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and an aqueous dispersion of colloidal silica of initial particle size of 15–30 nm. The hybrid films, prepared with varied proportion of colloidal silica (10–90 phr), were found to be transparent, indicating the nanolevel dispersion of the inorganic component over the polymer. Morphological studies further revealed no significant agglomeration of the silica domains embedded into the polymer matrix. A depression in glass transition temperature of PVA is observed with increasing proportion of silica. The degree of crystallinity also showed a decreasing trend with increasing amount of silica. However, the composite films demonstrated superior mechanical performances, higher resistances to dissolution in boiling water, and lower permeability compared with virgin PVA, owing to the better interaction between PVA and silica as well as the reinforcing action of nanosilica particles in the polymer matrix. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Adv Polym Techn 27:152–162, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/adv.20129