Direct Imaging of the Organic-Inorganic Interfacial Transformation.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40063571.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c06631.
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Abstract
The organic-inorganic interfacial nanostructures between fillers and the matrix play a crucial role in the performance of polymer composites. Here we propose an <i>in situ</i> cryogenic transmission electron microscope technique (cryo-TEM) approach to directly observe the organic-inorganic interfacial transformation in a toluene diisocyanate (TDI)-based polyurethane composite during its synthesis process. Elliptical protrusions growing radially outward from the filler surface, which serve as the critical intermediate nanostructures of the interface layer, are observed by <i>in situ</i> cryo-TEM, indicating that the interface layer is formed through a curing reaction of the prepolymer molecules anchored on the filler surface. Both decreasing filler sizes and adding coupling agents can enhance the interfacial interactions. The addition of 0.05 wt % coupling agent increases the interface thickness from 83.93 to 129.31 nm and improves the fracture toughness of the composite by 75.1%. These findings provide new insights for rationally designing interfacial nanostructures and high-performance polymer composites.