Abstract

In Situ Preparation Of Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate)/Titanium Dioxide Nanocomposites

Author(s): Toshiro Yamada, Lifei Hao, Shigeji Konagaya, Shigeyoshi Kanoh, Guang Li

This study deals with the synthesis and characterization of poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)/TiO2 nanocomposites. Commercial stable TiO2 sol was used to prepare ethylene glycol (EG)/TiO2 suspension while keeping the average particle size as 60nm. PET incorporated with different content of TiO2 nanoparticles was prepared via in situ polymerization and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The homogeneous dispersion in nano-scale was found for nanocomposites when the content of TiO2 is less than 2 wt%. Tensile performance shows that the nanoparticles can simultaneously provide PET improvement in modulus, strength and elongation at break at a rather low filler content. The addition of nano TiO2 to PET matrix also produces a broader UV absorption. ï›™ 2006 Trade Science Inc. - INDIA