Transparent and High Refractive Index Thermoplastic Polymer Glasses Using Evaporative Ligand Exchange of Hybrid Particle Fillers

Abstract

Development of high refractive index glasses on the basis of commodity polymer thermoplastics presents an important requisite to further advancement of technologies ranging from energy efficient lighting to cost efficient photonics. This contribution presents a novel particle dispersion strategy that enables uniform dispersion of zinc oxide (ZnO) particles in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix to facilitate hybrid glasses with inorganic content exceeding 25% by weight, optical transparency in excess of 0.8/mm, and a refractive index greater than 1.64 in the visible wavelength range. The method is based on the application of evaporative ligand exchange to synthesize poly(styrene-r-acrylonitrile) (PSAN)-tethered zinc oxide (ZnO) particle fillers. Favorable filler-matrix interactions are shown to enable the synthesis of isomorphous blends with high molecular PMMA that exhibit improved thermomechanical stability compared to that of the pristine PMMA matrix. The concurrent realization of high refractive index and optical transparency in polymer glasses by modification of a thermoplastic commodity polymer could present a viable alternative to expensive specialty polymers in applications where high costs or demands for thermomechanical stability and/or UV resistance prohibit the application of specialty polymer solutions.

Contact lens, high refractive index, abbe number, hybrid materials, fabrication, enhancement

“…On the other hand, organic-inorganic Zinc bis (Allyl-Dithiocarbamate) (Zn (ADTC 2 )) composed of allylamines, zinc nitrate and carbon disulfide were prepared by using Zn (DADTC) 2 and Zn (APDTC) 2 content of 18 and 30 wt.%, respectively; the resultant polymer characterized by high flexibility and high transparency to achieve (1.71 and 1.67) RI (Nagayama and Ochiai, 2016). Zinc also used extensively to prepare nanoparticle antibacterial coatings applied on CLs surfaces (Tuby et al, 2016), also the hybrid ZnO/PMMA polymer provides a colorless film of (1.6) RI which can be considered useful in such applications (Wang et al, 2017). ZnS nanoparticles have employed to obtain polymerized nanocomposite grafted with ZnS where a copolymerization process with a mixture of N, N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) and (HEMA) or Glycidyl Methacrylate (GMA) or Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), the produced polymer exhibits a transmittance above 92% in visible region and RI range of 1.652 and 1.751 after changing ZnS content from 33.4-50.3 wt.%…”

Plastic Materials for Modifying the Refractive Index of Contact Lens: Overview

“…These agents may result increased comfort and enhanced the stability of tear film [69,70]. Zinc also used extensively to prepare NP antibacterial coatings applied on CLs surfaces [71], also the hybrid ZnO/PMMA polymer provides a colorless film of (1.6) RI which can be considered useful in such applications [72]. ZnS NPs have employed to obtain polymerized nano-composite grafted with ZnS, where a copolymerization process with a mixture of N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) and HEMA (Table 5) or glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) or methyl methacrylate (MMA), the produced polymer exhibits a trassmitance above 92% in visible region and RI range of (1.652 and 1.751) after changing ZnS concentration from 33.4 to 50.3wt% [73].…”

Investigations on the aging behavior of transparent bioplastics for optical applications

“…It also has very good mechanical characteristics, in particular hardness and scratch resistance, and shows a very high resistance to weathering. Such optical materials, as described in the previous paragraphs, have in common that they are obtained from petrochemical raw materials and thus do not contribute to the sustainability of lighting solutions …”