Preparation of nano-sized UV-absorbing titanium-oxo-clusters via a photo-curing ceramer process

摘要

A titanium sol-gel precursor, titanium (IV) isopropoxide (TIP), was mixed with an epoxidized linseed oil (ELO). Using a cationic super-acid photoinitiator, triarylsulfonium hexafluoroantimo-nate, both the organic phase (ELO) and the inorganic phase (TIP) were concomitantly cured. The exposure to moisture 'was strictly controlled before and during the UV-curing process. The UV-Visible spectra, SAXs (small angle X-ray), DMA (dynamic mechanical properties), and contact angle were investigated as a function of sol-gel precursor. The UV-Visible spectra revealed that the inorganic/organic hybrid materials were more effective at blocking the UV-light than nanoparticu-late titanium dioxide while maintaining complete transparency in the visible region. The contact angle data indicated that the inorganic phase preferentially was concentrated at the film-surface interface. The SAXs data was indicative of a 2-5 nm titanium-oxo-cluster size, and the DMA data suggests a well distributed system.