SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PU-SI NANOHYBRID: INFLUENCE OF SILICA ON PROPERTIES OF UV-CURABLE POLYURETHANE ACRYLATE

Abstract

UV-curable polyurethane acrylate-silica nanohybrid has been prepared by incorporating 1% of silica precursors into polyurethane acrylate (PU) polymer matrix using a sol-gel technique and were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). TGA test revealed that the thermal decomposition temperature (Td50%) of the nanohybrid increased significantly, being 19 °C higher than that of pure PU while DSC measurements indicated that the introduction of 1 mass% of TEOS increased the glass transition temperature from 94 to 103 °C. Further the water sorption capacity of the PU was significantly decreased by the incorporation of TEOS.