A facile strategy for functionalizing silica nanoparticles by polycarbonate degradation and its application in polymer nanocomposites

The degraded polycarbonate (PC) chains were successfully grafted onto the surface of silica nanoparticles (nano-SiO2) by melt blending. Covalent linkage (Si-O-C bond) was formed between the degraded PC chains and nano-SiO2 under the condition of strong shear force and high temperature. The alcoholysis between carbonate and Si OH groups, coupled with the condensation reaction between silicon hydroxyls and hydroxyl end groups of degraded chains, mainly contributed to the formation of Si-O-C bond. As expected, the tensile strength and toughness of PC were simultaneously enhanced by incorporating functionalized SiO2. The improvement in tensile properties was attributed to the strong interfacial adhesion between functionalized SiO2 and PC matrix. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.