Poly(caprolactone)/Silica Organic-Inorganic Hybrids as Protective Coatings for Poly(methyl methacrylate) Substrates

摘要

Organic-inorganic hybrid materials were prepared starting from TEOS and α,ω-triethoxysilane terminated poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL-Si) using the sol-gel process. In all cases the formation of nanocomposites with a high level of interpenetration between PCL and SiO_2 phases was noted. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) slabs were dip-coated with PCL-Si/silica hybrids and a preferential segregation of silica onto the outer surface was found together to a PCL rich coating-PMMA interface. In all cases, a marked reduction of the average roughness and the friction coefficient was noted with respect to uncoated PMMA. All the coated samples showed a very strong increase of the flame resistance also after UV and IR irradiation, while improvement of the anti-scratch properties were noted only in the case of PMMA coated with silica rich ceramers.