Organic-inorganic microhybrid materials via a novel emulsion mixing method

Water-dispersible urethane acrylate anionomers (UAAs) were prepared using anionic dimethylol propionic acid and silica emulsion was prepared by a sol–gel process using poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) and tetraethoxysilane. The above two emulsions were mixed, and UAA/silica composite gels were prepared. FTIR, X-ray diffraction, SEM, and AFM were used to verify the structure and the inclusion of silica in the composite gels. To investigate the influence of silica in UAA gels on the physical properties, the tensile strength and elongation at break were measured, and the annealing effect was evaluated by the physical properties. As the silica content increased, the tensile strength of the composite gels increased; however, up to a certain amount of silica, phase separation was induced and physical properties were reduced.