Optical diffusers with enhanced properties based on novel polysiloxane@CeO2@PMMA fillers

Multifunctional optical diffusers based on hybrid polysiloxane@CeO2@PMMA microspheres were successfully prepared by UV curing process. The novel diffusing microspheres can be synthesized via facile one-pot method, and their structure was characterized by FT-IR, TEM, SEM, XRD, and TGA. The diffusers based on polysiloxane@CeO2@PMMA were found to have better properties such as heat resistance, mechanical, UV-shielding, fluorescence, and anti-aging ability compared to the diffusers using organic diffusing microspheres. Moreover, the new diffuser exhibited a strong NIR absorption, which had a potential application in absorbing materials and night vision LCD monitor products. In addition, a good diffusing effect was achieved using the new diffuser, and the light-diffusing mechanism was also illustrated. Moreover, the anti-aging ability of diffusers can be gradually improved with the increasing concentration of polysiloxane@CeO2@PMMA fillers. The novel diffusers based on polysiloxane@CeO2@PMMA possessed a stronger resistance to UV aging compared to moist-heat aging. Hence, this study firstly introduced hybrid microspheres to optical diffusers, which can be used for preparing different multifunctional diffusing materials such as touch-panel functions, monitors, military projectors, and novel LCDs.