Polymer/silica nanoscale hybrids through sol–gel method involving emulsion polymers. I. Morphology of poly(butyl methacrylate)/SiO2

In this article, we report on an approach of using an emulsion polymerized polymer in preparing organic–inorganic nanocomposites through a sol–gel technique. By mixing a polymer emulsion with prehydrolyzed tetraethoxysilane transparent poly(butyl methacrylate)/SiO2, nanocomposites were prepared as shown by TEM. AFM, FTIR, and XPS results show that there is a strong interaction between polymer latex particles and the SiO2 network. Comparison of the emulsion method with a traditional solution method shows that nanocomposites can be prepared by both methods, but there is some difference in their morphology and properties.