Novel polyester/SiO2 nanocomposite membranes: Synthesis, properties and morphological studies

In this paper, a new type of soluble polyester/silica (PE/SiO2) hybrid was prepared by the ultrasonic irradiation process. The coupling agent gamma-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GOTMS) was chosen to enhance the compatibility between the polyester (PE) and silica (SiO2). Furthermore, the effects of the coupling agent on the morphologies and properties of the PE/SiO2 hybrids were investigated using UV-vis and FT-IR spectroscopies and FE-SEM. The densities and solubilities of the PE/SiO2 hybrids were also measured. The results show that the size of the silica particle was markedly reduced by the introduction of the coupling agent, which made the PE/SiO2 hybrid films become transparent. Furthermore, thermal stability, residual solvent in the membrane film and structural ruination of membranes were analyzed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The effects of SiO2 nanoparticles on the glass transition temperature (T-g) of the prepared nanocomposites were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Moreover, their mechanical properties were also characterized. It can be observed that the Young's moduli (E) of the hybrid films increase linearly with the silica content. The results obtained from gas permeation experiments with a constant pressure setup showed that adding SiO2 nanoparticles to the polymeric membrane structure increased the permeability of the membranes. (C) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.