Preparation and characterization of poly(methyl methacrylate)/titanium oxide composite particles

Before polymerization, the introduction of double bonds onto the surface of the TiO2 particles was achieved by the treatment of the TiO2 particles with the silane-coupling agent. Via in-situ emulsion polymerization, the poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/titanium oxide (TiO2) composite particles were prepared by graft polymerization of MMA from the surface of the modified TiO2 particles. The structure of the obtained PMMA/TiO2 composite particles was characterized using fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and size excluding chromatography (SEC). The morphology of the obtained PMMA/TiO2 composite particles was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results of FT-IR and TGA measurements show that PMMA is successfully grafted from the surface of the TiO2 particles and that the percentage of grafting and the grafting efficiency can reach 208.3% and 96.6%, respectively. At the same time, the TGA and DSC measurements indicate an enhancement of thermal stability. TEM images demonstrate a better dispersion of the TiO2 particles in the composite latex. In addition, UV-visible absorption measurements show that the PMMA/TiO2 composite particles can absorb over 95% UV light at 210–400 nm wavelength.