Preparation and Optical Properties of Indium Tin Oxide/Epoxy Nanocomposites with Polyglycidyl Methacrylate Grafted Nanoparticles

Abstract

Visibly highly transparent indium tin oxide (ITO)/epoxy nanocomposites were prepared by dispersing polyglycidyl methacrylate (PGMA) grafted ITO nanoparticles into a commercial epoxy resin. The oleic acid stabilized, highly crystalline, and near monodisperse ITO nanoparticles were synthesized via a nonaqueous synthetic route with multigram batch quantities. An azido-phosphate ligand was synthesized and used to exchange with oleic acid on the ITO surface. The azide terminal group allows for the grafting of epoxy resin compatible PGMA polymer chains via Cu(I) catalyzed alkyne-azide "click" chemistry. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observation shows that PGMA grafted ITO particles were homogeneously dispersed within the epoxy matrix. Optical properties of ITO/epoxy nanocomposites with different ITO concentrations were studied with an ultraviolet-visible-near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectrometer. All the ITO/epoxy nanocomposites show more than 90% optical transparency in the visible light range and absorption of UV light from 300 to 400 nm. In the near-infrared region, ITO/epoxy nanocomposites demonstrate low transmittance and the infrared (IR) transmission cutoff wavelength of the composites shifts toward the lower wavelength with increased ITO concentration. The ITO/epoxy nanocomposites were applied onto both glass and plastic substrates as visibly transparent and UV/IR opaque optical coatings.

Preparation, structural and optical investigations of ITO nanopowder and ITO/epoxy nanocomposites

“…Based on the literature [9,35], several reasons can contribute to the reduction of the transmittance of nanocomposites by increasing the filler concentration. Some authors attributed this reduction to the relatively large particles size, and the mismatch of refractive index between the polymer matrix and the nanoparticles (the refractive index of epoxyresin is 1.54-1.55 [9], and that of ITO is 1.89-2 [36][37][38]) which leads to intense light scattering [39].…”

“…The optical band gap of nanocomposites was evaluated using Tauc's relation assuming that the band transition is direct [35,40]:…”

Flame retardant plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) film with selective solar spectral transparent properties

“…ITO and ATO are widely known as electrically conducting oxides, which are also good candidates for conductivity llers, transparent electrodes and display device. 20 They can shield part of UV light and most of NIR light. 25 Due to the vast difference between the refractive index of PVC and Sb 2 O 3 , Sb 2 O 3 particle is eligible for all of the light shielding function.…”

Non-aqueous colloidal processing route for fabrication of highly dispersed aramid nanofibers attached with Ag nanoparticles and their stability in epoxy matrixes

“…They have an extensive range of properties that can be attained, since the nanocomposites can be created with a combination of a broad variety of nanoparticles with tunable sizes and shapes and different functional polymeric materials. To date, various functional nanoparticles such as metal [1][2][3], metal oxide [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], metal sulfide [14,15], and carbon-related nanoparticles [16,17] have been blended and fixed into polymeric materials, designed for application as improved electronic [1,4,5], magnetic [6,7], mechanical [8][9][10], optical [11,12,14,15], thermal [16], and sensing devices [2,13].…”

“…Many useful processing routes to disperse functional nanoparticles in polymers have been reported; these include in situ nanoparticle formation processes [12,14], such as conducting local sol-gel-like reactions at alkoxy-terminated polymers [12], postsynthesis dispersion processes of surface modified nanoparticles, which involve tailor-made surface modifications of the nanoparticles using surfactants, silane alkoxides (coupling agents), and further multi-step chemical reactions [4,5,7,[9][10][11]. The selection of a suitable dispersion process can result in the fabrication of unique nanocomposite materials, such as mechanically improved transparent polymers [9], polymers with enhanced electronic conductivity [17], and others.…”