Silica/polydicyclopentadiene nanocomposites: Preparation, characterization, and mechanical properties

Silica/poly-dicyclopentadiene (SiO2/poly-DCPD) nanocomposites with improved mechanical properties were successfully prepared by in-situ ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) using reaction injecting molding (RIM) technique in this work. To improve the interfacial compatibility between SiO2 nanoparticles and poly-DCPD matrix, polystyrene (PS) was chemically modified onto the surface of SiO2 nanoparticles to obtain oil-soluble polystyrene coated silica spheres with core-shell structure (PS@SiO2). The mechanical behaviors of SiO2 /poly-DCPD nanocomposites with different PS@SiO2 content have been investigated in detail. The improved mechanical properties of SiO2 /poly-DCPD nanocomposites were mainly attributed to the well interfacial compatibility between the PS shell layer of PS@SiO2 spheres and poly-DCPD matrix, which resulted from the swelling of DCPD monomer in PS shell before polymerization.