Transparent and High Refractive Index Thermoplastic Polymer Glasses Using Evaporative Ligand Exchange of Hybrid Particle Fillers.
Development of high refractive index glasses on the basis of commodity polymer thermoplastics presents an important requisite to further advancement of technologies ranging from energy efficient lighting to cost efficient photonics. This contribution presents a novel particle dispersion strategy that enables uniform dispersion of zinc oxide (ZnO) particles in a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrix to facilitate hybrid glasses with inorganic content exceeding 25% by weight, optical transparency in excess of 0.8/mm, and a refractive index greater than 1.64 in the visible wavelength range. The method is based on the application of evaporative ligand exchange to synthesize poly(styrene-r-acrylonitrile) (PSAN)-tethered zinc oxide (ZnO) particle fillers. Favorable filler-matrix interactions are shown to enable the synthesis of isomorphous blends with high molecular PMMA that exhibit improved thermomechanical stability compared to that of the pristine PMMA matrix. The concurrent realization of high refractive index and optical transparency in polymer glasses by modification of a thermoplastic commodity polymer could present a viable alternative to expensive specialty polymers in applications where high costs or demands for thermomechanical stability and/or UV resistance prohibit the application of specialty polymer solutions.
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University , 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Zongyu
Z
Wang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Zhao
Z
Lu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Clare
C
Mahoney
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University , 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Jiajun
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3286-3268
J
Yan
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Rachel
R
Ferebee
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Danli
D
Luo
Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University , 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Krzysztof
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1960-3402
K
Matyjaszewski
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University , 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States.
Michael R
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9046-9539
MR
Bockstaller
hybrid material; ligand exchange; nanocomposite; refractive index; transparency; zinc oxide (ZnO)