THE EFFECTS OF INTERACTIONS ON THE PROPERTIES OF ACRYLIC POLYMERS SILICA HYBRID MATERIALS PREPARED BY THE IN-SITU SOL-GEL PROCESS/

Hybrid inorganic-organic materials based on trialkoxysilyl-functionali zed, hydroxyl-functionalized and unfunctionalized methyl acrylic polym ers have been prepared by the in situ sol-gel process in the presence of tetraethoxysilane. Especially, the trialkoxysilyl-functionalized PM MA/SiO2 hybrid has been successfully prepared without the use of the t rialkoxysilyl-functionalized polymer as a precursor which is hydrolyti cally unstable in the air. The interactions between the silica network s and these polymers were observed, and their influences on phase beha viour of hybrids were also investigated using differential scanning ca lorimetry and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the tria lkoxysilyl-functionalized polymer is best suited for preparation of hy brid materials with improved properties. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd .