Facile fabrication of ZrO ₂ @PMMA@polysiloxane nanohybrids and their application for light diffusing films

Abstract

In this study, novel zirconium dioxide (ZrO 2)@poly(methyl methacrylate (PMMA)@polysiloxane nanohybrids were facilely synthesised using a one-pot suspension polymerisation route. Various characterisations including Fourier transform-infrared, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were performed to record the components and morphology of the ZrO 2 @PMMA@polysiloxane nanohybrids. The nanohybrids were used as fillers in optical acrylate resins to enhance the optical properties of bare PET film. The ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectra show that the nanohybrids can absorb harmful UV rays, which has a great effect on prolonging the service life of light-diffusing films. The results also show that the transmittances of the films slightly decrease with the increasing filler loading, while the haze values increase. High transmittance and enhanced haze of the films could be achieved by incorporating 6% nanohybrids, which was better than commercial goods.

High‐Transmittance and High‐Haze Composite Particle‐Free Optical Diffusers Enabled by Polymerization‐Induced Phase Separation

“…Cellulose nanocrystal:polymer Hybrid optical diffuser 85%/85% [2] Composite layer based on electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers 67%/66% [4] Electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers/acrylic composite films 78%/92% [19] Nanostructural paper 96%/60% [5] TiO 2 -loaded acrylate polymer %63%/%60% [32] ZrO 2 @PMMA@polysiloxane nanohybrid 86%/90% [33] Strawberry-like PMMA/SiO 2 composite Microspheres/polymer hybrid film 95%/86% [14] Composite particle-free optical diffuser 88%/88% This work thickness is above 100 μm, which exhibits insignificant scattering ability compared with the aforementioned optical diffusers. Note that the BTDF distributions also agree well with the haze spectra distributions shown in Figure 3.…”