The interfacial effect of TiO2-Ag core-shell micro-/nanowires on poly(arylene ether nitrile)

Novel TiO2 - Ag core-shell micro-/nanowires (TiO2 shell coating on Ag core) have been successfully prepared via a solvent-thermal method. Energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that the micro-/nanowires were composed of Ag, Ti and O elements, and Ag was face-centered cubic whereas TiO2 was mainly amorphous. Interestingly, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy results showed that most of the TiO2 bristles were perpendicular to and uniformly studded on the surface of the Ag cores. Subsequently, TiO2 - Ag/poly(arylene ether nitrile) (PEN) composite films were prepared via a solution-casting method in order to investigate the effect of TiO2 - Ag on the PEN matrix. SEM images showed that there was good interfacial adhesion between fillers and PEN matrix owing to the special bristle-like structure. Thermal analysis results showed that the TiO2 - Ag/PEN composite films possessed excellent thermal properties endowed by the PEN matrix. The dielectric constant of the composite films increased to 9.3 at 100 Hz when the TiO2 - Ag loading reached 40 wt%. Rheology measurements revealed that the network formed by TiO2 - Ag was sensitive to shear stress and nearly time independent. (C) 2013 Society of Chemical Industry