ZnO Nanoparticles Coated with Amphiphilic Polyurethane for Transparent Polyurethane Nanocomposites with Enhanced Mechanical and UV-Shielding Performance

Shengwen Zhang, Dandan Zhang, Huiyu Bai, Weihua Ming

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

40 Scopus citations

Abstract

To optimize the dispersion and interfacial interaction of ZnO nanoparticles in UV-curing poly(urethane acrylate) (PUA) nanocomposites, a series of amphiphilic polyurethane (APU)-functionalized ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by an inverse miniemulsion process at room temperature. The ZnO nanoparticles functionalized with poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PTMG) based APU end-capped by various hydroxyl-containing compounds, including butyl alcohol (BA), hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA), could be well dispersed in toluene and acrylic monomers (methyl methacrylate, HEMA). Compared with PTMG-APU-BA-ZnO and PTMG-APU-PETA-ZnO, the incorporation of PTMG-APU-HEMA-ZnO nanoparticles (0.3 wt %) into PUA significantly enhanced the Young's modulus, tensile strength, toughness, and UV-shielding properties without compromising the high transparency of PUA nanocomposites. This study provides a new strategy for designing high-performance ZnO nanocomposites with potential to be used in advanced nanocomposite coatings.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)59-67
Number of pages9
JournalACS Applied Nano Materials
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 24 2020

Keywords

  • amphiphilic polyurethane (APU)
  • inverse miniemulsion
  • nanocomposites
  • UV-shielding
  • ZnO

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