Synthesis of TiO2-SiO2/waterborne polyurethane hybrid with amino-siloxane terminated via a sol-gel process

A novel method was employed to synthesize TiO2-SiO2/waterborne polyurethane. (WPU) hybrid terminated by 3-aminopropyltriethoxylsilane (APTES) via a sol-gel process. The hybrids were synthesized by in situ hydrolysis and condensation of tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT) and AITES. TiO2-SiO2 particles were well dispersed in polymer matrix with a diameter of about 500 nm and there was no phase separation between particles and WPU. XPS analysis demonstrated that Ti-O-Si bonds existed in TiO2-SiO2/WPU hybrid, and the percentages of Si-O-Ti bond in Si and Ti were about 35% and 20%, respectively. The chemical bonds between WPU and TiO2-SiO2 facilitated the homogenous dispersion and better compatibility during the sol-gel process. The successful preparation of TiO2-SiO2/WPU hybrid opens a new way to investigate other inorganic particles/WPU hybrids, such as Al2O3-SiO2/WPU for coating, fiber and adhesive applications. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.