Thermal Stability and Structure of Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticles Blends
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초록
내용
The polymer blend thin films easily form dewetting holes to reduce surface energy at high temperatures. However, polymer grafted nanoparticles (PGNPs) are more thermally stable than linear polymers because of entanglement between polymer chains and low mobility of nanoparticles. In this study, we report that thermal stability and structures of PGNPs thin films with various molecular weights and grafting densities investigated by heat treatment at 180 ℃. The phase separation of these blend films for thermal annealing was observed using a neutron reflectometer. PGNPs blends (dPS-SiO2/hPMMA-SiO2 NPs) showed a uniform distribution, but linear polymer blends (dPS/hPMMA) showed considerable phase separation. Particularly, when low molecular weight polystyrene (Mw=3,000g/???) was blended, phase separation did not occur. The role of polymer brushes on the phase separation of polymer blends offers more opportunities for various polymer-based applications.